A mum feared she'd bleed to death after tripping down her stairs and smashing her face on a cupboard - the day before her retirement party. Mary-Jean Thompson was 'waltzing' down the stairs with her hands full and made it to the final five steps when her foot slipped and she suddenly lost her balance.
The retired chef was unable to save herself and careered into a cupboard, smashing her face into it so hard that 'pints of blood' pumped out of her shattered nose and severed top lip. The 66-year-old, who was due to celebrate her birthday and retirement the following day, was so convinced she'd die she told her horrified partner her final wishes while cradled in his arms.
Mary-Jean was rushed to hospital where doctors had to stitch her face back together and an MRI scan revealed she had also damaged the central nervous system in her spine. Mary-Jean spent a total of three months in hospital recovering - seven of which she was bedbound.
Mary-Jean now has constant pain in her hands and arms as a result of the nerve damage but says she's just happy to have survived the freak accident. The mum-of-one has shared shocking photos of her injuries to warn others to be extra careful on stairs.
Mary-Jean, from Rugby, Warwickshire, said: "I was supposed to retire that week, it was the day before my birthday so I was just off to the butchers to get the meat for a party the next day. I was coming down the stairs and I had an overnight bag on my arm, my handbag and an empty gin glass which I'd taken upstairs the night before so my hands were full.
"I'm waltzing down the stairs and when I got to about the fifth step from the bottom I felt my foot slip and I knew I was going but I couldn't grab hold of anything because my hands were full. We have a cupboard at the bottom of the stairs and my face smashed into it.
"After that it was like I was floating, like an out of body experience, I didn't even feel myself hit the floor. I was half up the stairs and the other half of my body on the floor. I was in a bit of a banana shape and all I could see was blood - pints and pints gushing out in front of my face.
"My partner got to me by this time and was calling the ambulance and I just said to him 'I'm going to die'. I thought the blood was coming from my neck. He said 'no, you're not going to die' and went and got a towel and shoved it where the blood was coming from to try and stop it.
"Then we just talked and I gave my last wishes - 'tell my son I love him and take care of him'. My fear was that the ambulance would take ages and I would bleed to death. We got to hospital and the next thing I knew they were stitching me up because above my lip to under my nose and right down to my bottom jaw was totally open.
"It had hit the cupboard and split it right open and it was hanging off - that's where all the blood was coming from. I'd also split my nose in half and broken it as well."
After the 999 call from her partner, an ambulance arrived swiftly and blue-lighted Mary-Jean to the University Hospital Coventry, in Walsgrave, where surgeons immediately closed the gaping wounds on her face. As she was suffering from a painful 'burning' sensation in her hands, which were involuntarily balled shut, doctors did an MRI that revealed the damage to her spinal cord.
This nerve damage meant that she was unable to use her hands or do anything for herself for weeks, even having to be fed by nurses. She spent five weeks bedbound there before being transferred to the specialist spinal unit at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry for further treatment.
Doctors initially planned on operating on Mary-Jean's spine to release some of the pain and tension in her hands but through intense physiotherapy she made such incredible progress that they opted not to.
After a total of seven weeks bedbound and another two weeks in a wheelchair she was finally able to start learning to walk again and was released from hospital in July, after 12 weeks as an inpatient. She then started going to the gym to continue building strength in her weakened hands and arms, which she still does three times a week.
Mary-Jean said: "They put a neck brace on me and then the next thing the consultant came in and told me I'd be in hospital for about three months and that I might need an operation on my spine. I couldn't believe that I was spending my birthday in hospital and not being able to have the party, it was devastating.
"The main pain was in my hands - I couldn't open them, they were closed tight and the pain was horrendous. Apparently I'd damaged the nerve centre of my spine and it sent nerve pains right down my arms to my hands.
"The consultant asked me what the pain was like and I said it was just like I'd stuck them into the frying pan, they were burning. I couldn't drink or eat by myself so the nursing staff had to do it for me. it was just like being a baby.
"After about two-and-a-half weeks they started to open gradually but only very slightly. Gradually I got stronger and stronger to the point where I could get out of there. I couldn't dress myself very well because my hands were so weak - pulling trousers up or putting a bra on was really hard.
"Not many people walk out of there, I was very lucky. I saw some horrific things there but the main thing was falling down stairs."
Mary-Jean is still on daily pain medication for hypersensitivity in her hands as a result of the nerve damage and may still need an operation on her spine if her condition deteriorates. As she continues to heal from the traumatic accident, she now wants to warn people of the dangers of stairs and encourage extra caution especially when coming down them.
Mary-Jean said: "My central nervous system still isn't right now and they said they don't know if it ever will be. It's something to do with your brain because when I touch things they don't feel the same, they feel rough or prickly and if I put my hands under cold water they sting.
"When I go down stairs now I go very gingerly and put both feet on the step so I go a bit sideways and hold onto the bannister because when I look down it sends shivers down my spine. Be careful what you're carrying down stairs and don't put anything at the bottom of your stairs unless it's bean bags - just five steps and that was the damage.
"I've done it myself running up and down stairs because you're in a hurry, don't do it because if you miss that step it can change your life in seconds."
Mary-Jean is now fundraising to make a donation to the charitable fund for the spinal unit where she was treated, which supports a wide range of health-related activities benefiting both patients and staff.
You can donate to Mary-Jean's page here.
