Woman who ‘partially decapitated’ herself after diving into pool and breaking neck on holiday ready for London Marathon

A young professional who “partially decapitated” herself after diving into a pool and breaking her neck on holiday has said she feels “fortunate” to be alive.

Becca Reed, 25, who lives in London and works in PR, went to Turkey with a friend for her 23rd birthday and played volleyball in the pool on May 16 2022.

After diving to catch the ball, she hit her head on the concrete base of the pool and spent the next few days in a “haze and daze”, managing the pain with painkillers and believing she just had whiplash.

Unbeknown to Becca until she flew home and sought medical advice on May 19, she had crushed the C5 and C6 vertebrae in her neck, leading to two operations and years of mental and physical rehabilitation.

“When I did eventually see a doctor, the first thing she said after I told her what had happened was, ‘I’m surprised you’re not dead’,” Becca told PA Real Life.

She said doctors credited her unusually strong back and shoulder muscles as the factors that held her spinal cord in place, helping her survive the moment of impact and the days afterwards.

Having never run 5km before the accident, she is now preparing for the TCS London Marathon on Sunday to raise funds for the Spinal Research charity.

Speaking about the accident, she said: “I was in pain, but there was no swelling, there was no bruising, my muscles were all just really tight – and it’s called guarding.

“My muscles were guarding the rest of my body because I essentially partially decapitated myself, so my muscles were holding my head on.

“I had been going to the gym five or six times a week for nearly two years beforehand – and that is why I am alive.

“Doctors said if my injury had happened to a normal person, they wouldn’t walk, move, talk.”

Becca has always lived an active lifestyle and before the accident she enjoyed lifting weights in the gym, skipping and boxing.

She tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in one knee, aged 17, but otherwise suffered no major injuries – until her birthday trip to Turkey in May 2022.

On May 16, when she and her friend were playing volleyball in the pool, one move changed her life “in an instant”.

“The dive just went so wrong,” she explained.

“My hands didn’t even hit the bottom, my head was just the first thing to hit the bottom.

“Once the injury had happened, I just floated in the water for what felt like an eternity and I was just thinking, ‘Can I move my feet?'”

Becca soon realised she could move and she stood up and climbed out of the pool, and over the following days she remained in bed, taking painkillers.

“I hadn’t jumped to, ‘I’ve broken my neck or I’ve broken my spine’, I just thought it was severe whiplash,” she said.

After flying home, the pain increased and on May 19 she called NHS 111 for advice.

She was advised to visit the A&E department at North Middlesex University Hospital, where she underwent an X-ray and various scans before being placed in a neck brace.

“Doctors told me I had the worst injury in London on this day,” she said.

“They said that my C5 and C6 vertebrae were just completely smushed and I had basically just cracked them both in half.”

Becca was taken to the Royal London Hospital where she underwent two operations: one to replace the shattered vertebrae with a metal structure, and another to stabilise her neck with rods and screws.

This is when doctors said her pre-injury dedication to fitness saved her life.

“The pain was actually the worst after the second surgery because they had to cut through all of my neck and back muscles,” she said.

“The surgeon said you’ve grown muscles where people don’t usually grow muscles because I used to lift weights, and that is one of the main reasons why everything else held on.”

According to Spinal Research, every two hours someone is paralysed by a spinal cord injury in the UK and this can be caused by an accident, illness or a health condition.

Becca had to re-learn how to turn over in bed, stand up from lying down, walk and even put moisturiser on her face.

She described the recovery process as “long and gruelling” and said she neglected her mental health at times.

However, she knew she had to “show up for (herself)” and, with the support of friends and family and Spinal Research, she began to rebuild her strength.

“My body held on for dear life when I didn’t know it needed to… so I really needed to spend some time getting my body back to where I trusted in it again,” she said.

After six months, Becca was able to start lifting more than 10kg and in January 2024, as part of her new year resolutions, she wanted to “find passion in movement again”.

She decided to start running and said she found “peace and serenity” and a newfound confidence in herself and her body.

Nearly three years after the accident, she will be running the TCS London Marathon on behalf of Spinal Research to raise awareness of the science and support systems that helped save her life.

She said: “If there’s one thing that comes out of any of this, it’s me advocating for people to get in the gym and be active.

“I didn’t realise it would save my life, and you don’t want it to be too late, so start now.

“Just show up for yourself now so you can thank yourself later because you don’t know what’s around the corner.”

To donate or find out more about Becca’s fundraiser, visit: justgiving.com/page/becca-reed-spinal-research.