A runner was left with a 'second head' when she slipped on black ice and ended up with a bump so large that it 'scared' strangers and made her look like 'the sloth from Ice Age'.
Rachel Pepper went for a morning jog on a trail in Chicago, in Illinois, America - but had a shock when she slipped on black ice six miles into the run, falling and hitting her forehead on the tarmac.
The marketing worker told how she stood up and 'felt fine' - and thought that bystanders were 'overreacting' when she noticed their 'shocked and scared' looks.
It was only when the 26-year-old took out her phone that she saw her reflection - and realised just how 'scary' she looked.
Jaw-dropping photos taken just five minutes after the accident show a huge bump protruding from Rachel's eyebrow.
Rachel swiftly went to A&E, where doctors gave her a CT scan before confirming that no serious damage had been done.
Rachel said that she was 'shocked' when she first saw her reflection, thought accidents like this 'could only happen in cartoons'.
After uploading shots of her accident on TikTok, Rachel received a range of 'funny' comments - with some witty users even comparing her to Sid the Sloth from Ice Age.
Rachel said: "The spot was in the shade, which is why I didn't see the black ice. There wasn't any part of the trail that had any [visible] ice on it at all.
"[The fall] was very quick. The people around me seemed very shocked and scared, but I felt fine.
"I didn't feel dizzy, I was able to walk, so I thought that everyone around me was overreacting.
"But as soon as I took my phone out and saw my reflection, I realised how scary it looked.
"It looked like I grew a second head.
"I was confused, because I obviously felt the pressure in my head but I didn't feel as bad as the bump looks.
"I've never seen this happen to anyone before, and I was a bit worried that it was something in the brain.
"I immediately went to the emergency room to get a CT scan and make sure everything was okay, but it came back fine.
"All the comments [on TikTok] have been very funny to me, and I'm really happy that I can joke about it.
"[I've been compared to] the sloth from Ice Age and Quasimodo."
The runner is now recovering at home, and has developed a black eye as a result of the injury - but said the bump is slowly going away.
For Rachel, who has been running since she was 13 years old, the bizarre injury is the worst she has had yet.
However, the strange accident hasn't deterred Rachel from her favourite sport, and the fitness enthusiast is even continuing to train for a marathon.
Rachel said: "I got a very nasty black eye, that I'm still recovering from now over two weeks later.
"Every day the bump is continuing to go down, but it's still not back to normal just yet.
"I was more angry that it happened. I'm training for a marathon right now, and I was really worried that I had hurt myself and wouldn't be able to run my marathon.
"But thankfully I'm back in my training and I'll be able to run my marathon in May.
"I'm still very confident about running. I will say I haven't been to that section of the trail since the accident, and I'm definitely hesitant to be running in that area of the trail.
"This is definitely the worst injury I've had whilst running.
"But it definitely won't deter me from running and being a part of the running community."
Rachel shared footage of her unusual bump on TikTok on 14th March, where it racked up more than 18,000 likes and comments.
One user said: "Ma'am did your brain come out of your skull because that is the largest bump I've ever seen."
Another said: "This is what I thought would happen when I was a kid if I hit my head. Like the cartoons."
A third said: "Are you okay now? Idk if you can laugh about it now but my boyfriend said [you look like] Sid from Ice Age and now I can't unsee it."
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