A TEENAGE athlete who fractured her cervical spine at a Somerset training camp and could not move any of her limbs was running 10km just seven months after receiving emergency surgery at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.
Paulina Gores, a trampoline gymnast, was visiting Somerset from Germany when a freak accident left her with a fractured spine and injuries to her spinal cord.
She now plans to train for a half marathon, just one year on from her accident.
Paulina was attending a training camp in Wellington and attempted a double forward somersault from a trampoline when the move went wrong, and she landed on her head.
The athlete, then 15, was unable to move her limbs at all.
Paulina has successfully recovered (Image: NHS Trust)
She was taken by air ambulance to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children where UHBW consultant paediatric neurosurgeon, Mr Mike Carter, and paediatric neurosurgery fellow Dr Mallory Dacus performed an emergency reduction on Paulina’s spinal dislocation followed by surgery to secure the damaged vertebrae in position using titanium plates, screws, and a cage prosthesis.
The surgery was successful, but it was not known how much function Paulina would be able to recover.
The following day Paulina was already starting to get some sensation in her left arm and just days later feeling and movement in her left leg.
By the time Paulina, who is now 16-years-old, was well enough to return to Germany, following a week and a half of treatment in Bristol, she had regained some feeling and movement on both sides of her body.
She had further treatment at a hospital closer to her home in Germany and spent time recovering in two rehabilitation centres.
While many people with a similar injury (a fracture dislocation between the C5 and C6 vertebrae) are often left with permanent damage and lifelong disability, Paulina was taking her first steps just two months after her accident.
After extensive physiotherapy she was able to return home, where she lives with her father, six months after the accident and recently has returned to running.
Already a keen runner Paulina was thrilled to be able to complete a 10km run and has plans to run a half marathon.
Paulina said: “I am grateful for all the support I have received in Bristol and in Germany. I can lead a normal life.
“I was able to take steps, walk up and down stairs and even run a little bit while in the rehab centre.
“I had set myself the goal of running a half marathon last year, as I have always been a runner, and that is still a goal for me despite everything I’ve been through.”
Mike Carter, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust's consultant paediatric Nnurosurgeon, said: “Paulina has come on leaps and bounds, quite literally.
“She has kept us up to date with her progress via email and has sent us videos of her remarkable rehabilitation.
“Paulina’s case shows just how important it is that all parts of a trauma service work well together.
“In this case she was stabilised, transferred, imaged, and operated on all within a matter of hours from the injury.
“Also, it shows the importance of getting underway with your rehabilitation as soon as possible.
“Paulina’s calm attitude and stoicism, even when she was first brought to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, has been so impressive. She’s pretty tough.”
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