Grandma's C2 Fracture

To put it in perspective: Christopher Reeves shattered his C1 and C2. Basically, those are the vertebrae that cradle/hold your head and cause you to turn it from side to side. And they also contain some pretty important nerves. Oh, like the ones that help you BREATHE! (minor detail, righto?)

So, to put it in other terms( see my translations in purple):

"Cervical spine (C-spine) injuries are the most feared of all spinal injuries because of the potential for significant deleterious sequelae (translated: really, really bad stuff can happen). Correlation is noted between the level of injury and morbidity/mortality(could make ya close to dying/dead) (ie, the higher the level of the C-spine injury, the higher the morbidity and mortality)(ie, C1 is really high, C7 is low). Craniocervical junction injuries are the deadliest (C1 and C2).

"As many as 10% of unconscious patients who present to the emergency department following a motor vehicle accident (MVA) have C-spine pathology. MVAs and falls are responsible for the bulk of C2 fractures.¹ The clinical manifestations range from asymptomatic to frank paralysis." (just thought I'd highlight that bit)

So, just to drive the point home, it's amazing that Grandma can be discharged tomorrow.