A young woman feared paralysed after breaking her back, legs and pelvis and shattering her ankle in 30 places after falling out of a fourth storey window has taken her first steps just three months on from the horrific accident. Sophie Bracken, 23, was feeling sick at the end of her friend's birthday night out, so went to the window at the Manchester city centre apartment to get some fresh air.
But she got 'a bit too close to the edge', lost her balance and fell over, plunging 40ft onto the pavement below in the early hours of Sunday, September 4. Her screams for help were eventually heard by a taxi passenger who got the driver to pull over.
Sophie was initially taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary before being treated for several weeks at the Greater Manchester Major Trauma Centre at Salford Royal. Her injuries were so severe doctors feared she'd be permanently paralysed.
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But just 12 weeks on from the fall Sophie has taken her first steps at home in Bradford, West Yorkshire as she starts her long journey to recovery. She said: "Due to the trauma and stress, I think my mind has blocked out a lot of the pain and feelings I had at the time.
"I remember hitting the ground and feeling my back break. I remember worrying more about my family and how I was going to get in touch with my mum, rather than my injuries.
"The moment mum got to me was a sense of comfort. I had a feeling that everything will be OK, even though everything wasn't OK."
Sophie is speaking about her fall for the first time to raise awareness of Day One Trauma Support, which supported her and her mum Rachel Clapham, 60, during her recovery.
Desperate to stay with her daughter, Rachel had been sleeping on hard benches, plastic chairs and even windowsills in the hospital as she couldn't afford the hotel stay in Manchester and didn't want to keep making the daily six-hour return journey on public transport. But after being moved on by hospital security in the early hours one morning, a nurse told Rachel about Day One Trauma Support.
The charity provided a small grant so Rachel could spend several nights in a hotel close to the hospital. They also provided emotional support and put them in touch with other charities and organisations that could help once Sophie left hospital.
Rachel, of Idle, Bradford, said: "Sophie may be 23, but all I wanted was to give my baby girl a hug and tell her everything will be OK. The emergency funding came at the right time.
"It meant I could stay in Manchester. I was able to give Sophie so much more support, knowing I only had a six-minute bus ride back to the hotel. If Day One hadn't have been there, it would have been a different story. It would have been harder for Sophie, but 10 times harder for me."
Mum and daughter are now backing Day One's Big Give Christmas Challenge, which started this week and ends at 12pm on Tuesday, December 6. The charity says it is is seeing an increase in demand as people who are already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis have the added burden of costs associated with suffering a major trauma.
Kirsty Christmas, fundraising manager at Day One Trauma Support, said: "We're so glad we were able to support Sophie and Rachel when they needed it most. Unfortunately, their situation is not unique and thousands of people face needing this help when dealing with a life-changing injury.
“People are struggling to cope with the costs of major trauma during a cost-of-living crisis. And this will only get worse over the festive period. That’s why we need help so we can be there for them, from day one and for as long as it takes."
You can support Day One Trauma's Christmas appeal here
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