Aussie nurse fractures her back jumping into a pool while holidaying in Bali
Australian nurse breaks her back jumping into a pool while on holiday in Bali
An Australian nurse on holiday in Bali who broke her back when she jumped from a five-metre diving board feared she might never walk again.
Linda Dehnert-Rowe, 52, was at the famous Mrs Sippy beach club on Semenyak Beach last month when she climbed the ladder to the top of the diving board.
Ms Dehnert-Rowe jumped off in a ‘pencil pose’ and landed in a sitting position, her tailbone breaking the surface of the water and the impact ricocheting down her spine.
Just before jumping, she asked a friend ‘what’s the worst that can happen if you jump off a diving board?’
Although footage of the incident shows a harmless dip into the pool, Ms Dehnert-Rowe suffered two spinal fractures and doctors were concerned that ‘floating bones’ in her back could cause her to become paralysed.
An Australian nurse, Linda Dehnert-Rowe (pictured), was nearly paralyzed after jumping from a five-metre diving board while on holiday in Bali
She was plucked from the water, placed on a spine and then rushed to hospital.
Ms Denhert-Rowe revealed her first night in hospital was spent in a ‘storage cupboard… with no bell or instruments’.
β(I) had to lie on a towel in my own urine waiting for the neurosurgeon to come in the morning,β she told Yahoo Australia.
The nurse was told to stay in the hospital while she waited for neurosurgery.
However, she trusted her ‘nursing instincts’ after seeing her CT scans and decided to travel back home.
After her travel insurance was taken out, she was immediately given a medical evacuation back to Melbourne, where she was told she didn’t need surgery at all and instead only had to wear a back brace for 12 weeks.
Ms Denhert-Rowe has urged other Australians to ensure they take out travel insurance while planning to go abroad.
βThe big message to everyone is make sure you have travel insurance and make sure you don’t engage in risky behavior because then you won’t be covered by insurance,β she said.
“All it takes is one little mistake, one little accident, for something to go wrong.”
Although footage of the incident shows a harmless dip into the pool, Ms Dehnert-Rowe suffered two spinal fractures and doctors were concerned that ‘floating bones’ in her back could cause her to become paralysed.
The nurse has had a miraculous recovery after the accident and is now planning her return to work after undergoing neurosurgery a few weeks earlier
In a video on her TikTok, Ms Denhert-Rowe revealed that she has had a miraculous recovery in the weeks since the incident.
“I’m currently planning my return to work,” she captioned the video.
‘It has been a journey to say the least, with a positive attitude and the support of my most loved people I will recover as quickly as possible.
‘I am blessed.’
Many TikTok users were grateful that the nurse recovered from an almost much worse injury.
βI’m so glad you’re not paralyzed and sending love,β one user wrote.
Another revealed she was at the same pool at the time of the accident, writing: “I was there that night and saw what happened to you (sic).”
βI’m so glad you’re doing so much better,β she wrote.