Photo credit: Kennedy News and Media From Women's Health Natalie Kunicki, a paramedic in London, suffered a stroke after cracking her neck while stretching. Kunicki, 23, put off calling the paramedics because she didn't want her colleagues to think she was "tipsy." Kunicki ended up rupturing her vertebral artery, a major artery in the neck, which led to the stroke. Cracking your neck seems pretty harmless-but for one U.K. woman, it caused a stroke that left her partially paralyzed. Natalie Kunicki, who works as a paramedic for London Ambulance Service, was watching movies in bed with a friend after a night out on March 4, when she stretched her neck and heard a loud cracking sound, according to the Daily Mail. At first, the 23-year-old didn’t think much of the noise, but when she got up to use the bathroom 15 minutes later, she collapsed and wasn't able to move her leg. "My friend had to come and pick me up," she said. "He thought I was drunk but I knew something else was wrong,” she said. (At first, Kunicki thought she had been drugged.) Kunicki put off calling 999 (Britain’s version of 911) for 10 minutes because she didn’t want her coworkers to show up and find her "tipsy." "I thought it was too unlikely it would be a stroke when I should have known much better," she said. Kunicki tried to fall asleep but eventually decided to call for help. She was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and realized something was seriously wrong en route: her coordination was off and her heart rate and blood pressure were “sky high.” Doctors eventually discovered that she had burst her vertebral artery, a major artery in her neck. That rupture caused a blood clot to form in her brain, which then triggered a stroke, per the Daily Mail. "The doctors told me later that just that stretching of my neck had caused my vertebral artery to rupture," she said. "It was just spontaneous and there's a one in a million chance of it happening." Story continues Kunicki immediately underwent surgery, which lasted three hours, and while doctors were able to repair her artery, they couldn't clear the clot in her brain (though they say it will dissolve in time). The stroke left Kunicki's left side almost completey paralyzed, per the Daily Mail. "At the start, I couldn't move my thumb and forefinger," she said. "I could kind of move my wrist up and down. I couldn't lift my arm. I could bend my left leg but I couldn't wiggle my toes." Kunicki's slowly getting her mobility back and she can walk, but not for more than five minutes. Her doctors aren’t sure if and when she’ll ever make a full recovery. “I'm really clumsy. I can't do up buttons, I find it too difficult. I can feel hot and cold now but I still feel a bit numb,” she said. “People need to know that even if you're young something this simple can cause a stroke. I wasn't even trying to crack my neck. I just moved and it happened.” To help Natalie with her medical bills, visit her GoFundMe page made by her family. ('You Might Also Like',)<doc-sep>A 23-year-old paramedic is speaking out after a neck crack caused a major artery in her spine to rupture, resulting in a stroke. Natalie Kunicki, who works for the London Ambulance Service, was watching movies in bed with a friend after a night out on March 4 when she stretched her neck and heard a loud crack, the Daily Mail reports. When she got up to use the bathroom 15 minutes later, Kunicki says she collapsed and couldn't move her left leg. The embarrassed paramedic at first refused to call emergency services, as she originally mistook her own symptoms for inebriation and did not want her colleagues to see her "tipsy." However, Kunicki eventually realized something was seriously wrong with her and phoned for help. "I'm a paramedic and I didn't ring 999 for 10 minutes because I thought it was too unlikely it would be a stroke when I should have known much better," she said. These are the symptoms of a stroke: An ambulance rushed Kunicki to the University College London Hospital where physicians confirmed she suffered a stroke and would need emergency surgery, according to the Daily Mail. The patient was transferred to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, where, during a three-hour surgery, doctors discovered and fixed her burst artery. "When the consultant told me I'd had a stroke, I was in shock," Kunicki said. "The doctors told me later that just that stretching of my neck had caused my vertebral artery to rupture. It was just spontaneous and there's a one in a million chance of it happening." Kunicki's left side was initially rendered completely paralyzed by the stroke. Through physical therapy, she says she has been able to regain some use of her leg, arm and hand, although she describes her movements as "clumsy." She hopes that by speaking out about her condition, her story will spread awareness that young people can also suffer strokes and that symptoms should never be ignored. "I have been called out to so many people having strokes and they're always in their 70s or 80s," Kunicki said. "I have never been to a young person having a stroke." "People need to know that even if you're young something this simple can cause a stroke," she added. To donate to Kunicki's recovery fund, click here.<doc-sep>
Natalie Kunicki suffered a stroke after she cracked her neck while stretching, leaving her paralyzed on her left side A 23-year-old paramedic based in London was left partially paralyzed after she cracked her neck while stretching and accidentally ruptured a major artery. According to the Daily Mail, Natalie Kunicki, a paramedic for London Ambulance Service, was watching movies in bed with a friend after a night out in March, when she stretched out her neck and heard a loud cracking sound. Fifteen minutes later, Kunicki got up to use the bathroom and collapsed on the floor, not able to move her left leg. “I got up and tried to walk to the bathroom and I was swaying everywhere,” Kunicki told the Daily Mail. “I looked down and realised I wasn’t moving my left leg at all then I fell to the floor.” At first, Kunicki didn’t call for help because she didn’t want her colleagues to turn up in an ambulance and find her “tipsy.” “I thought it was too unlikely it would be a stroke when I should have known much better,” she said. After she eventually called for help, an ambulance rushed Kunicki to the University College London Hospital, where she underwent a three-hour surgery after doctors discovered the ruptured artery in her neck, according to the Daily Mail. “The doctors told me later that just that stretching of my neck had caused my vertebral artery to rupture,” Kunicki said. “It was just spontaneous and there’s a one in a million chance of it happening.” NATALIE KUNICKI Natalie Kunicki | Credit: Kennedy News and Media The rupture of the major artery in her neck caused a blood clot in Kunicki’s brain that triggered a stroke. During surgery, doctors repaired the artery, but weren’t able to fully remove the blood clot. (The doctors believe it will dissolve in time, per the Daily Mail.) The Daily Mail reported that Kunicki’s left side was almost completely paralyzed by the stroke. “At the start, I couldn’t move my thumb and forefinger,” she said. “I could kind of move my wrist up and down. I couldn’t lift my arm. I could bend my left leg but I couldn’t wiggle my toes.” Though doctors said they can’t know if she’ll ever make a full recovery, Kunicki is now regaining mobility and hopes to be back at work for “light duty” in six to 12 months. “I’ve recovered movement in my left side,” she said, according to the Daily Mail. “I can walk but not for more than five minutes.”