A mum who somersaulted over her flat wall while out for a cigarette fell down a 12ft drop and fractured her neck in three places.
Cary Edby, 25, had gone out for a cigarette two days before Christmas when she lost her footing and fell over a wall and towards the basement flat below – face first. At first, she was unable to move her mouth to speak but finally mustered the energy to call for help.
Thankfully, two strangers heard her and were able to get her mum, Diane Dee, 59, who called the ambulance and fire brigade. Firefighters spent three hours trying to get Cary out from where she was stuck before she was rushed to William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, Kent.
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A CT scan revealed she had fractured her neck in three places and she was moved to King's College Hospital, London, where she underwent spinal surgery on Christmas Eve.
Cary, from Ramsgate, Kent, said: "I went outside for a cigarette and lost my balance and somersaulted over the wall. I fell face first. When I fell, I couldn’t talk or move. I thought 'this is it – I’m paralysed.'
“I wanted to call for help, but I couldn’t open my mouth. Finally, I was able to, but it was really quiet and raspy. Then I heard a voice saying, ‘we can hear you’. Two heads appeared from up on the wall.
“They were able to go and get my mum as I’d left the door open. I heard a drip noise and thought it was raining but apparently my head was bleeding. The firefighters had to lower a stretcher down to me to get me out.
“Everyone feels it’s a complete miracle I'm OK.”
Cary had to wear a neck brace for three months after the accident, on December 23, 2019, but has made a miracle recovery and has gone on to become a mum. In April 2022, she welcomed her son Freddy, one, with her partner, Connor Wright, 27, a general manager.
Slowly Cary has gained her mobility back but has been left with a 50% reduction in both sides of her neck – meaning she struggles to turn her head. But doctors are amazed that Cary can still walk and hasn’t been left paralysed from the accident.
She said: “It’s completely amazing. Doctors can’t believe I’m not in a wheelchair. Crossing the road is difficult. I have to move my entire body to look left and right."
Cary still struggles with chronic pain, nerve damage and her balance but loves being a mum.
She said: “It’s been series of unfortunate events. I have nerve damage behind my ears, and I get dizzy when I bend over.
"Connor helps out a lot with Freddy. Freddy is amazing. He’s very funny. He’s got my nan’s smile and I think he looks like my mum.”
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