Young woman 'partially decapitated' herself diving into pool on Turkey holiday
A young British woman who "partially decapitated" herself after diving into a pool and breaking her neck on holiday is lucky to be alive, medics claim. Becca Reed was in Turkey celebrating her 23rd birthday with a friend on May 16, 2022, when she dived to catch a ball during a game of pool volleyball and hit her head on the concrete base of the pool. The now 25-year-old the following days in a "haze and daze", managing the pain with painkillers and believing she just had whiplash. It wasn't until she returned home and sought medical advice on May 19 that she discovered she had crushed the C5 and C6 vertebrae in her neck. This led to two surgeries and years of mental and physical rehabilitation. Becca told the M.E.N: "When I did eventually see a doctor, the first thing she said after I told her what had happened was, 'I'm surprised you're not dead. "I was in pain, but there was no swelling, there was no bruising , my muscles were all just really tight – and it's called guarding. "My muscles were guarding the rest of my body because I essentially partially decapitated myself, so my muscles were holding my head on. "I had been going to the gym five or six times a week for nearly two years beforehand – and that is why I am alive. "Doctors said if my injury had happened to a normal person , they wouldn't walk, move, talk." Becca has always led an active lifestyle, taking part in weightlifting, skipping and boxing. But the incident in Turkey changed her life "in an instant". She explained: "The dive just went so wrong . My hands didn't even hit the bottom, my head was just the first thing to hit the bottom. "Once the injury had happened, I just floated in the water for what felt like an eternity and I was just thinking, 'Can I move my feet?'" Becca soon realised she could move and climbed out of the pool, and over the following days remained in bed, taking painkillers. "I hadn't jumped to, 'I've broken my neck or I've broken my spine', I just thought it was severe whiplash," she said. After flying home, the pain increased and on May 19 she called NHS 111 for advice. She was advised to visit A&E, where she underwent an X-ray and various scans before being placed in a neck brace. She then underwent two operations: one to replace the shattered vertebrae with a metal structure, and another to stabilise her neck with rods and screws . She said: "The pain was actually the worst after the second surgery because they had to cut through all of my neck and back muscles," she said. "The surgeon said you've grown muscles where people don't usually grow muscles because I used to lift weights, and that is one of the main reasons why everything else held on."
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