Even though cracking your neck may seem quite harmless and for some even relaxing, for one woman in the UK, it triggered a stroke which left her partially paralyzed.
The woman is Natalie Kunicki, aged 23, who works as a paramedic in the London Ambulance Service. She was watching a movie in bed with a friend after a night out when she stretched her neck and heard a loud cracking noise.
At first, this didn’t bothered her; however, when she got up 15 minutes later to head to the bathroom, she collapsed and couldn’t move her leg.
Woman Has a Stroke after Stretching Her Neck
She recalls how her friend had to come and pick her up. She thought maybe she was drunk; however, she felt something was wrong.
She even thought at first that she may have been drugged. She didn’t call the ambulance right away because she didn’t want her colleagues to show up and find her in this condition.
She didn’t think of a stroke at first because it seemed unlikely; however, she later realized she should have known much better.
Kunicki even tried to fall asleep, but eventually, she realized she needed medical help.
The ambulance took her to the hospital and saw that something was off- her coordination wasn’t right and her blood pressure and heart rate skyrocketed.
After the tests done in the hospital, it was discovered that Kunicki had busted her vertebral artery, the major neck artery.
This rupture triggered a blood clot in the brain and then this caused a stroke.
This happened spontaneous and there is only one in million chances to occur.
Kunicki Had to Undergo Surgery
The young lady immediately had surgery that lasted for 3 hours and even though the doctors fixed the artery, the brain clot couldn’t be cleared.
The doctors said later that it will dissolve eventually.
Unfortunately, the stroke almost entirely paralyzed her left side and at the beginning, she couldn’t even move her thumb and forefinger.
She could move her wrist a bit up and down, but couldn’t lift her arm. She could bend her left leg, but couldn’t wiggle her toes.
Kunicki Is on the Road to Recovery
Gradually, Kunicki is getting her mobility back and she can now walk; however, not more than 5 minutes.
Her doctors aren’t 100 percent sure if she will ever recuperate fully.
She says that she’s clumsy and that she can’t do up buttons because it’s too hard and she can feel cold and hot now, but she still feels a slight numbness.
If you want to help this young woman pay for her medical bills, please donate to her GoFundMe page that her family opened up for her.
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