In the summer of 2006, Jeanette Sykes, 39, was enjoying an outdoor barbeque party and turn on the trampoline at a friend’s house when she suffered an accident on the trampoline that broke her neck.  She was told she would be paralyzed, requiring a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

The former hairdresser underwent risky surgery where screws were inserted into the neck fracture to help provide support and stability to her spinal column.  Five months of rehabilitation followed at the Spinal Injuries Centre at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, West Yorkshire.  The next step of her rehabilitation is where the truly miraculous leap to mobility occurred.

Doctors at Sykes’ hospital were testing the Lokomat, a robotic harness and treadmill apparatus manufactured in Switzerland.  The patient is fitted into the harness, which carries the weight of the body while the patient walks along the treadmill.  Sykes is one of the first people in the United Kingdom (UK) to try out the device.

Improvement was so dramatic that in just four short weeks, Sykes was able to walk short distances with only the assistance of crutches.  Two years later, she walks freely, entirely on her own, without assistance of any kind.  She isn’t quite able to return to her career as a Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, hairdresser yet but she’s come a long way from the wheelchair she was told she’d need forever.

With summertime fast approaching and outdoor activities picking up, Sykes urges everyone to be cautious using trampolines and adds that she herself would have never imagined an injury as serious as her own could occur when jumping on a surface as soft as a trampoline’s.  She’d prefer to see trampolines relegated to supervised gymnasiums only.

Sykes further says that the netted trampolines that are becoming increasingly popular provide only a false sense of security and would have done nothing to prevent her injury.

Roger Vincent, a spokesperson for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, says there’s been a 50% increase in trampoline-related accidents in the UK over the last five years.  He says that they can be lots of fun but they can be very dangerous, too.  He urges everyone to follow manufacturer’s safety guidelines at all times, including limiting trampoline use to one person at a time.  He further recommends the use of adequate safety padding and proper set-up in a clear area on a soft surface.

Source: Daily Mail