Man Severs Neck Artery and Suffers Multiple Strokes After Turning His Head Too Quickly



A Missouri man can consider himself lucky to be alive after he ruptured a neck artery and suffered three strokes because of turning his head too quickly. Joel Hentrich suffered the freak accident in November when he and some friends were playing pickleball — a racket sport similar to tennis — and he turned his head quickly to one side to track a ball. He felt and heard and strong pop in the back of his head that immediately set in motion a series of injuries that would leave him fighting for his life. Moments after the violent pop, the 35-year-old experienced extreme vertigo. A couple of minutes later, he was being helped to a bench because he couldn’t walk on his own. Next came projectile vomiting, along with tingling on the left side of his face, hand, and leg. Joel was immediately driven to the hospital, where he was taken for a CT scan and an MRI. Doctors informed Joel that he had somehow dissected his artery, which had triggered three strokes in his lower cerebellum, the part of the brain responsible for coordination and movement. Fortunately, after two days in the hospital, Joel was able to walk out on his own two feet, without any concerning aftereffects. He has since made a full recovery and considers himself extremely lucky. It’s unclear what caused the artery to rupture, as Joel indicated he has turned his head that way numerous times without incident.