A bride-to-be who partied a little too wildly at her bachelorette party will now have to walk down the aisle with her leg in a cast after she seriously injured herself while celebrating her bachelorette party with friends.
Kurstan Buck traveled to Orange Beach, Alabama, United Kingdom earlier this month to enjoy a week away with her nine bridesmaids and family members.
But as the bridal party set off on a pontoon boat to begin the festivities, disaster struck for Kurstan.
As the party on the ship got underway, the 22-year-old decided to help film some content for her friend’s social media, doing a backflip off the back of the boat as her friends cheered her on.
Unfortunately, the water was shallower than she expected and when she landed hard, she broke her left leg.
Nashville’s Kurstan Buck broke her leg after doing a backflip off a boat and hitting her leg on a shallow bank
The bride-to-be was initially too shocked to feel any pain, but soon realized that her lower leg was badly damaged
Frightening footage shows Kurstan doing a back somersault and landing in the water, her feet hitting a shallow sandbar or sunken bank.
The ‘stunned’ social media marketer said she was initially too shocked to feel any pain.
But when she was pulled back on board, she knew she had done serious damage to her lower leg.
Shocking images show Kurstan’s ankle, swollen and with a dent in her leg because part of her shin bone had been dented.
After being rushed to the emergency room, doctors confirmed via X-rays that Kurstan had shattered her left shinbone and broken her ankle in three places.
Because her left leg was too swollen to require immediate surgery, her leg was put in a cast and the bride-to-be continued her bachelorette party in a wheelchair.
Kurstan, from Nashville, Tennessee, said, “They [the boat staff] took us to the bay and to a sandbank and went for a long swim in deep water up to our chests.
‘After that we had a few drinks at a bar that you could swim to from the boat, then they took us back to another sandbar, which they said was quite shallow.
After being rushed to the emergency room, doctors confirmed via X-rays that Kurstan had shattered her left shin and broken her ankle in three places
During the trip, the social media marketer put on a brave face and still participated in the festivities
Kurstan Buck had traveled to Orange Beach in Alabama, USA, for a week-long getaway with her nine bridesmaids and family members
Kurstan, pictured with her bridesmaids, said she initially couldn’t feel the pain in her leg because of the shock
‘Then we decided to create some social media content for one of my friends, who is a musician.
Because the water was shallow, they moved the boat out into deeper water so we could do a few somersaults off the boat.
‘The woman [staff on the boat] He even stood in the water to show how deep it was, but the current must have pushed the boat into shallow water without us knowing.
‘We went to the back of the boat to do the backflip and once we landed I stood up and I was stunned. I was in shock.
‘I just hit the sand, but I’ve heard it can be really unforgiving, so packed. The sandbank was like concrete and the impact shattered my leg.
‘About 10 minutes later I started feeling pain and I was crying because it hurt so much.
‘It [my left leg] was super swollen and you could see a dent in my leg, it looked like my shin was kind of dented in.
‘[After my leg was casted]we rested the whole next day, but then we rented a beach wheelchair and got a long beach chair so I could rest my foot.
Four days after returning home from her bachelorette party on Sunday, July 14, Kurstan underwent a five-hour surgery
During the operation, the 22-year-old had to have 16 screws and two plates inserted into her leg
Despite her broken leg, Kurstan still reached the beach with her friends during their journey away
The social media marketer is pictured on a night out during her bachelorette party with a cast to protect her leg
Kurstan’s friends supported the bride-to-be to ensure she still had a great trip for the wedding
‘The girls took me all the way to the beach for the next few days. We still played all the games and went out to eat and really tried to make the best of the worst.
“My friends and my mom were a big part of making the best of it, having fun and taking my mind off things. I was in a wheelchair the whole time.”
Four days after returning home from her bachelorette trip, Kurstan underwent a five-hour surgery to have 16 screws and two plates inserted into her leg.
A pain catheter was then placed in her limb and she had to use crutches for the next five weeks to keep pressure off her injury.
Kurstan is set to marry 26-year-old Grant Hyams on October 12 this year. Initially, she feared she would not be able to tie the knot on her wedding day.
But after she had a check-up appointment with her surgeon, he said she should be able to walk on her big day, but she would have to wear a boot and a cast.
Kurstan said: ‘I was very worried about my wedding day after my accident.
‘I cried when my surgeon said he thought I would be able to walk down the aisle. This was my biggest wish, because I wanted to be able to walk down the aisle.
Kurstan continued the party in her cast, taking it easy in a wheelchair to ensure her foot didn’t sustain any further damage.
The bride-to-be issued a warning to other holidaymakers, saying: ‘People should check the water before you jump in. I was very lucky I didn’t dive in and it wasn’t my head and neck.
‘Because of this operation I am not allowed to put any weight on my ankle for the next five weeks. That is early September, and that is really itching just before my big day.
My surgeon said I’m still wearing a boot, so on my wedding day I’ll be in a cast.
“He said he was confident that I would at least be able to take off my boot and walk down the aisle once the ceremony was over.
“I hope I can get married. I’m a pretty resilient person, so I hope if I try my best I can do it.
‘We’re going to dress up my boot and put some white stuff and bows on it. Dress it up and try to make it fit.
‘I’m a little worried about my injury on my wedding day. I want to get through the day without pain, but this is a big possibility.
“I hope I don’t have any problems walking around, standing and dancing because I want to enjoy it. There’s a lot of fear around this.
“My surgeon said he would re-examine me a week before my wedding to let me know what I can and cannot do.”
After her accident, Kurstan urges others to be careful about jumping into shallow water, admitting that her injuries could have been fatal if she had landed on her head or neck.
Kurstan said: ‘I would say this happens more often than people realise.
“People should check the water before they jump in. I was lucky I didn’t dive in and it didn’t involve my head or neck.”