A couple were forced to make dramatic changes to their wedding plans after the bride had an accident at her hen do.
According to a news release by Nottingham University Hospital (NUH) in the UK, Craig Bolton and Carla Horton planned to tie the knot at the end of March at a church near their home. However, an incident at Carla’s hen do uprooted their wedding preparations.
The hospital does not reveal many details but says Carla was celebrating her hen in Skegness. She and a friend reportedly attempted ‘a stunt,’ which landed the bride-to-be in the hospital. Whatever Carla attempted also knocked her unconscious. “I made a silly misjudgment on my hen do and tried to do a stunt which I think I was just too old to do. And it resulted in me fracturing the top of my neck and being paralyzed from the chest down,” Carla explained.
Carla’s friends immediately notified the emergency services, and Craig, who raced to the hospital. He said, “I drove to Boston hospital and was greeted with Carla in Resus, all strapped up. It was the absolute shock of my life.” Doctors performed multiple tests on Carla and moved her to various hospitals. She ultimately required spinal surgery following an MRI scan.
Time Was A Critical Factor At The Hospital
Craig praised the quick actions of hospital staff, describing that everything occurred within a 20-hour window. Carla may not have been so lucky if there were delays. Michelle Elmsley, the Spinal Cord Injury Lead at NUH, explained, “The rapid medical and surgical response which Carla received has helped to give her the best chance of recovery. However, spinal cord injuries are very complex and take extensive time to recover.”
The husband-to-be was making daily three-hour-round trips to the hospital as his other half recovered. Carla admitted she had sobering thoughts in the hospital, worrying that Craig may not want to be with her in that condition. “I think when something like this happens to someone, you don’t want to put them through the possibility that you might never walk again,” she said. Craig put the record straight, saying, “You do find your soulmate at some point, and when you do, you know. And I’ve found mine.”
After five weeks in the hospital, Carla and Craig decided to marry in the chapel at Queen’s Medical Centre, where they had a ‘private and intimate’ wedding.