23-Year-Old Partially Paralyzed After She Cracked Her Neck And Suffered A Stroke

Jun 04, 2019 by apost team

When someone suffers a highly unexpected injury or ailment that sends them to the hospital, it’s always a tragic occurrence. However, it becomes exceedingly more tragic when that person is of a young age and was in overall good health.

It makes you take stock of your own health, life and how quickly everything can change in an instant. Stories like these are always a bit scary, yet we can’t help but send our thoughts out to those young people for a speedy recovery and no further harm.

Natalie Kunicki was one of those young people who suffered from an unforeseen medical incident that left her in a hospital bed. According to the Daily Mail, Natalie was a healthy, young 23-year-old woman who had no symptoms or major health concerns prior to this occurrence. In fact, Natalie worked as a paramedic in London and had thorough medical knowledge and background in medical care. She spent her days aiding of others in emergent medical situations.

However, the typical person she aided was over 70 years of age, leaving her and those she knows even more shocked that something so serious happened to her.

apost.com

Natalie and her friend were simply watching a movie together when she went to adjust her position and stretch her neck. The two both heard a loud crack come from Natalie’s neck area as she repositioned, but neither person thought anything about it because Natalie didn’t experience any pain at all when the cracking noise occurred.

"I wasn't even trying to crack my neck. I just moved and it happened. I stretched my neck and I could just hear this "crack, crack, crack"." She told the Daily Mail, "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."

Natalie felt that she was a little off and decided to go to sleep because she was feeling tired. After 15 minutes, she woke suddenly with a myriad of odd symptoms. She got up to go to the bathroom and couldn’t even walk straight.

She then looked down and realized that she wasn’t moving her left leg. Due to her young age and good health, Natalie hesitated to call 911, thinking maybe she had simply drunk too much alcohol while watching the movie. Natalie finally called the paramedics and was rushed to the hospital where doctors confirmed that she had a stroke. They informed her that when she heard the crack while stretching her neck she had ruptured her vertebral artery, a one-in-a-million occurrence.

Natalie is recovering well through physical therapy and wants people to know that a stroke can happen to anyone, no matter their age or health.

“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,” She told VT news, “Every minute more of your brain cells are dying, so don’t ever discount a stroke just because someone is young.”

What do you think about Natalie’s sudden, unexpected stroke? Did you know something like this could happen? Let us know in the comments and be sure pass this along to your friends and family to raise awareness!

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation by your doctor. Your health is important to us!