He stretched his neck watching a movie, he rang and fifteen minutes later he almost died

A 23-year-old Australian paramedic was stricken with a stroke caused by the bursting of a vertebral artery when she stretched her neck.

Natalie Kuricki, who works for the London Ambulance Service, I was watching a movie with a friend after a festive night last month, when he stretched his neck and heard a loud "crunch".but did not give much importance.

Fifteen minutes later, when he got up to go to the bathroom, he collapsed on the floor. He could not move his left leg.

She was rushed to the hospital, where she learned that her spinal artery – one of the main arteries of the neck – had erupted. This resulted in the formation of a blood clot in his brain that resulted in a stroke.

"People need to know that even if you are young, something as simple as it can cause a stroke.Kuricki said.

"I did not even try to blow my nose. I just moved in and it happened. I stretched my neck and heard 'crack, crack, crack, crack'."he added.

"My friend asked me:" It was your neck? "But all my joints make these noises, so I did not pay much attention.

The situation has been aggravated by the diagnosis of paramedics of his condition because confused his symptoms with those of a drunken person and I was too embarrbaded to call the emergency services.

"I got up and tried to go to the bathroom and staggered everywhere. I looked down and realized that I was not moving my left leg and I fell to the ground"said the young woman.

Kunicki admitted that she had initially hesitated to call the doctors because she did not want her colleagues to find her drunk. "A friend was coming to pick me up." At first, I thought I was drunk or if I had been drugged, but I knew something else was not going well.He stated that his coordination had deteriorated and that his heart rate and blood pressure were "through the roof".

"I am a paramedic and I did not call the ERs for ten minutes because I thought it was very unlikely that a stroke would occur while I should have known"he recognized.

After some tests, the ambulance took Kunicki to University College London Hospital, where it was confirmed that she had suffered a stroke and that she should undergo emergency surgery.. He was transferred to the National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery, where after a three-hour surgery, the doctors discovered the artery rupture.

Surgeons managed to repair the damaged artery with a stent, but they could not remove the clot in their brains.although they believe that it will dissolve with time.

"When the doctor told me that I had a stroke, I was shocked, and later they said that I stretched my neck had caused the rupture of my vertebral artery. There is a possibility over a million that it happenshe lamented.

"I do not smoke, I do not drink and I do not have a family history of strokes, so it's odd enough that it's getting me wrong. arrived while I was moving to bed, "he added.

Immediately after the operation, Kunicki could not move his thumb or forefinger anymore. He had a little control over his wrist, but he could not lift his arm. I could not bend my left leg, nor move my toes. "I was waiting to wake up from this miraculous operation and everything would be settled, but my mobility was worse and they could not clean the clot," said the Australian.

Since then, he has found movement and sensations. Doing daily exercises has allowed you to recover enough movement in the leg, arm and hand. Although he has not yet received a specific deadline for his complete recovery, he hopes to return to work in the next six to twelve months.

"I found movement on my left side, I can walk but not more than five minutes, I am very clumsy, I can not pimples, it's very difficult for me, I can get hot and cold now, but I still feel a little anesthetized, "she said. .

"I have treated many people who have had a stroke and are still between the ages of 70 and 80. I have never been with a young person who has had a stroke."

"My case was one in a million, but the rupture of a vertebral artery is actually a fairly common cause of stroke in young people"he added.