Teen spends two days walking around with broken back after medics 'missed it'
A Scots teenager was left walking around with a broken back for more than two days after medics allegedly missed it on her x-ray.
Iona Jade Thomson was travelling to her first day of a new farm job when she was involved in a horror two car crash in Angus on September 1. The teenager, from Friockheim, was rushed to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee but discharged just hours later with what medics described as a 'squashed vertebrae'.
Despite being in extreme pain, Iona was determined to attend a ladies day hospitality event hosted by her beloved Arbroath Football Club the following day after being given tickets for her birthday.
But after attending an appointment at the hospital’s fracture clinic on Monday, September 4, the 18-year-old was horrified to discover she had an L5 burst fracture in her lower back. Iona told the Record : “The same x-ray that was taken and looked at on the Friday was the same one they looked at on the Monday.
“So I don’t know how the consultant didn’t see it the first time. I’ve got a follow up in three weeks time where I’ll hopefully find out more information from the spine doctor. It’s going to be a long three to six months recovery and I’ll never be the same as what I used to be.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
Iona at the Arbroath ladies day event with Arbroath captain Thomas O'Brien (Daily Record)“I’ll always have back pain. It’s a burst fracture in the lower lumbar. So it’s completely shattered and they can’t do anything to fix it because of how low down it is. I can’t even wear a back brace. It’s just a case of dealing with the pain and getting on with life.”
Recalling the crash and its aftermath, Iona added: “I was travelling to my first day at my new job on a farm when I was involved in a crash with a Toyota Hilux at about 7.45am. I was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee by ambulance where the A&E consultant said there wasn’t really much damage, it was just a squashed vertebrae so I got discharged at about 12.30pm.
“It was ladies day at Arbroath Football Club on the Saturday and my mum had got me tickets for my birthday. Everyone kept telling me I might not make it but I was determined I was going even though I was in unreal amounts of pain.
“The painkillers I’d been given just weren’t working but I somehow managed to stay the whole day. I took a pair of crutches because I knew I was going to be in pain. It’s just as well I did because I could have unknowingly done more damage to my back. When they said that my back was actually broken, they were shocked that I made it through the weekend with the amount of pain that I was in. From that point, I wasn’t allowed to move or walk.
Iona was travelling to the first day of a new job when she was involved in the collision (Daily Record)“I was put in a wheelchair and taken along to the major trauma ward and put on bedrest. I had a CT scan on Monday, an MRI scan on Wednesday and they hoped to get me out on Thursday afternoon because it was my 18th birthday. But they discovered that I had fluid in my neck so they kept me in an extra night to keep a close eye on me. The nurses did wake me up at 6am to sing happy birthday to me though which was nice.”
Mum Vicki Thomson, 52, added: “When Iona called me and told me she’d had a crash, my heart just stopped. I just went onto autopilot. She didn’t know the road that she was on but luckily I was able to see her location on Snapchat maps.
“When I saw the state of the car, I couldn’t believe that the outcome wasn’t so much worse. The next day, she was really sore but she was determined she was going to ladies day because she had been looking forward to it for months. She goes to all their games. I have no idea how she was able to walk around for two days with a broken back or how on earth they missed it in the first place. She could have been paralysed.
“She’s a tough cookie so that’ll hopefully help with her recovery. I’m just thankful that she’s still here. We’re going to be making a complaint to try and find out how they missed the fracture. But for now we’re focusing on getting her settled and back on her feet.”
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: “Due to patient confidentiality we are unable to comment on matters relating to individual cases. We would invite the patient to contact our Patient Experience Team with any concerns they may have.”
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