Hayley Black rolled out of bed one morning, getting up to heat a bottle of formula for her daughter Amelia. When she saw her daughter yawn, she instinctively followed her example. The 36-year-old instantly felt an electric shock sensation shoot through her body, leaving her arm stuck in the air. Black immediately realized something was wrong, so she asked her husband to call an ambulance. When she arrived at Milton Keynes University Hospital, she was in excruciating pain. Doctors struggled to understand what was going on, because the initial scans didn’t show anything. It was only after taking a scan of Hayley's neck that they realized the C6 and C7 bones in her neck had shot forward into her spine. They determined that it was the force of the yawn that caused the freak accident. That’s when doctors gave her the news that she may not survive, and if she did, it was likely she would never walk again. Emergency surgery saved her life, but not without lasting effects. Doctors removed two discs from her neck, leaving her with permanent nerve damage and a tracheal scar. She spent six months in a wheelchair and had to relearn how to walk again, and now she lives with fibromyalgia, a chronic condition that impacts her daily life. Even today, Hayley says she can’t yawn without a wave of anxiety. “It’s scary — a yawn nearly cost me everything,” she said. Though the ordeal has left her with lifelong reminders, Hayley is grateful to be mobile and alive. The moral of the story? Stretch gently, yawn carefully, and maybe don’t try to outdo your baby.
