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Crippled by a sneeze!


Published by: Isabelle Loynes
Published on: 14th January 2010

There's nothing more frustrating than a sneeze that won't come. That tingle starts at the back of your nose, your breath catches in your throat, then... nothing.
But it's so satisfying when you finally do let rip - aitchoo!
As Victoria Kenny watched EastEnders she felt that tell-tale tingle, before an almighty sneeze erupted.
But instead of quickly reaching for a tissue, the unthinkable happened - she was left crippled.
'When I sneezed, I felt a searing pain down my spine.' Victoria said. 'I didn't understand what was happening. I couldn't stand, or move my arms or legs.'
Her husband Alan rushed her to hospital, where doctors discovered how powerful the force of her sneeze had been.
She'd broken her back.
The force of it had ruptured a disc in her spine, leaving her sciatic nerve trapped between two vertebrae.
But, despite three operations on her spine, doctors couldn't fix the problem.
For the next two years, Victoria was in constant pain. The mum-of-three from Chichester, West Sussex, had to be spoon-fed and was on so much morphine she began hallucinating.
'Thanks to one sneeze, my life came to a juddering halt,' she said. 'I had to live like a hermit because I was in
constant agony.'
It wasn't until a friend suggested that she go and
visit spinal orthopaedic surgeon Andrew Quaile that she finally found relief.
During a pioneering four-hour operation Victoria, 52, had a titanium cage inserted into her spine to stop the disc from collapsing again.
Within a week, Victoria was back on her feet, and is now planning on running a half-marathon to raise money for spinal injuries charity.
'I'm still terrified of sneezing, though,' she added.
'I sit down and pinch my nose every time I feel one coming on.'