An Australian man became paralyzed after blowing his nose, which caused him to faint and collapse on the bathroom floor.
Blowing one’s nose is a common act, especially during a cold, and it’s typically not associated with severe consequences.
However, one Australian family’s world was turned upside down due to a seemingly mundane activity of blowing a nose.
In an interview with the Daily Mail’s FEMAIL, Kirsty Bronner described hearing a ‘loud bang coming from their bathroom’.
She said: “I rushed in and found my partner lying unconscious on the floor. He had hit his neck and dislocated it causing a C6/7 spinal cord injury. He had blown his nose and fainted, hitting his neck on the bathroom bench.”
Kirsty’s partner, who chose not to be named during the interview, was taken to the hospital and underwent a six-hour operation.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions at the time, Kirsty was not allowed in the hospital and had to wait eight agonizing hours for an update.
She added: “I was so sick with worry. Eventually they rang and said he had a neck dislocation from hitting the bench which had caused a spinal cord injury and wouldn’t know the extent of the injuries until they had done surgery and done tests.”
Alarmingly, Kirsty’s partner had sensed something was wrong the day before the accident on New Year’s Day 2022.
“I will never forget him saying he felt like something bad was on the way. I look back now and it gives me chills,” Kirsty recalled.
While Kirsty’s partner was left paralyzed, Kirsty herself faced significant emotional and practical challenges due to the health crisis.
Her skincare business, The Booty Co, took a backseat as she focused on caring for her children and managing her husband’s new condition.
Kirsty told FEMAIL: “The emotional and mental stresses caused were so severe that I could not tend to the business at all. We had a third-party warehouse to send out but everything else was completely halted.”
She added: “I was so mentally strained I struggled to tend to my kids as best I could so Felicity [Her sister and also business partner] would come and do a lot of housework and help with the kids, leaving her unable to do her part in the business as well.”
As of last year, Kirsty’s partner remained paralyzed.