Cracking joints is a bad habit shared by millions of people around the world. People tend to crack everything from backs, fingers, necks, toes; you name it. And while there are a few cautionary tales around, most people don’t believe that this habit has any severe effects on their long-term health.
That is until they hear about a freak accident such as the one that happened a 23-year-old paramedic named Natalie Kunicki. This young woman found out the hard way about the severe ramifications after one day, she stretched and cracked her neck.
Natalie then woke up 15 minutes later, unable to move her left leg.
Natalie Kunicki would regularly crack her jointshttps://t.co/oxUiyKDJQp
— The Daily Record (@Daily_Record) April 15, 2019
“People need to be more mindful when doing any chiropractic exercises or strenuous gym weights. I was in bed watching stuff with a friend when it happened. I stretched my neck and I could just hear this ‘crack, crack, crack’. My friend asked ‘was that your neck?’ but all my joints crack quite a bit so I didn’t think anything of it. I just laughed.”
She fell to the floor when she first tried to walk, and after a few minutes of trying to understand what was happening, she called emergency services, which happened to be her employer.
“I’m a paramedic and I didn’t ring 999 for 10 minutes because I thought it was too unlikely it would be a stroke when I should have known much better. Every minute more of your brain cells are dying, so don’t ever discount a stroke just because someone is young.”
She was then taken to the hospital where doctors used a CT scan which confirmed that she’d had a stroke. Natalie was “in shock,” in part because she never believed anyone her age could have a stroke just from stretching.
Paramedic, 23, suffers a stroke after cracking her neck and mistakes her own symptoms as being drunk: Natalie Kunicki, who works for the London Ambulance Service, stretched while watching films in bed after a night out drinking. A burst artery caused a… https://t.co/vq1F8D95dI pic.twitter.com/Y5NKvTjemA
— RushReads (@RushReads) April 15, 2019
“People need to know that even if you’re young, something this simple can cause a stroke. I wasn’t even trying to crack my neck. I just moved and it happened.”
Her doctors discovered that a major artery had burst in her spine, which caused a blood clot to form in her brain, thus triggering a stroke. She had a very long road of exercises, which requires incredible mental toughness before she can start walking again.
“The doctors told me later that just that stretching of my neck had caused my vertebral artery to rupture. It was just spontaneous and there’s a one in a million chance of it happening.”
Her friends at the ambulance service have helped Natalie get through her physical therapy and keeps her spirits up when she’s feeling down. Plus, the promise of getting back to the work she loves helps to keep her eyes on the prize.
“I just love my job and I want to get back to it. I’m so used to being busy and now I feel like I’m climbing the walls a bit. I definitely want to get back to work as soon as I can.”
Sadly, doctors were unable to clear the clot in her brain, which means Natalie still only has minimal use of her left side. Although, they do expect the clot to dissolve on its own over time.
And while no timeline is specified, they do expect her to make a full recovery within 6 to 12 months.
In the meantime, Natalie is using her tragic experience to help warn other young people to be more aware that strokes don’t just happen to older people.
“I have been called out to so many people having strokes and they’re always in their 70s or 80s. I have never been to a young person having a stroke. Mine was one in a million but a ruptured vertebral artery is actually quite a common cause of strokes in young people.”
Natalie is undoubtedly making the best of a horrific situation. We all hope she makes a full recovery, and we are sure she working hard every day to make that happen.
What do you make of Natalie’s story? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section, and please be sure to share her tale with your friends and family.