Extraordinary survival of the woman who suffered INTERNAL decapitation after her skull was torn from her spine in car crash

A young woman miraculously survived after being internally decapitated in a car crash.

Rachel Bailey sustained the rare, usually deadly injury where her spine was torn from her skull in the smash in Phoenix.

The gruesome accident happened on Cave Creek Road in September 2011 - but thanks to firefighters not only did she cheat death, but was saved from paralysis, AZ Family reported.



Miracle: Rachel Bailey survived her head being severed from her spine

Rescued by firefighters: Ms Bailey called the crew her heroes after they rescued her from death and paralysis

After recovering from her extensive injuries - which left her internally beheaded - the determined young woman has now learned to walk and talk again.

But the accident wiped some of her memory and she does not remember about a five-week period around the time of the crash.

Grateful: The 23-year-old was determined not to let the accident beat her

Ms Bailey said her decapitation was 'horribly impossible' - usually someone who is internally decapitated dies from the severe injury.

She told 3TV that she was intent on overcoming her injuries: 'I'm not going to let this beat me or define me.'



In an emotional meeting on Monday night, she met the men who who rescued her.

The 23-year-old told the group of men at Fire Station 7 that she could never thank them enough and she called them heroes, AZ Family reported.



Bailey severed her skull from her spine in the car crash. She spent a month in John C. Lincoln Hospital's Intensive Care Unit.



Fire Captain Wayde Kline, who was at the crash scene in 2011, said the meeting was emotional.

He cooked dinner for Ms Bailey's family and the firefighters on Monday night and said the meeting gave his crew the chance to see a happier side of patients who are normally in distress.

INTERNAL DECAPITATION - HOW THE SPINE IS TORN FROM THE SKULL

When someone is internally decapitated, their spine is detached from their skull. Usually, their head is held on by just tissue and muscles.

The patient normally dies because their spinal cord has been severed.

If the victim does survive, they are normally paralysed because they endure such severe nerve damage.

The rare condition happens when the victim suffers a severe head injury.

Doctors have used metal plates, cages and bone grafts in surgery to reattach the head to the spine.



He said: 'This reminds us the people we take care of are someone's son, daughter, mother or father,' the website reported.

But Ms Bailey is not the only person to have done the unthinkable and survived being internally beheaded.



A cyclist who was internally decapitated after being knocked off his bike defied all odds by not only surviving, but walking again after a quick-thinking retired nurse ran to his help.

Carpenter Aaron Denham, 22, from Hampshire, not only suffered internal decapitation, but serious head injuries, broken ribs, wrist, pelvis and nose as well as a severed artery in his neck, a lacerated spleen, bruised spinal cord and punctured lung.

His head had dislocated from his neck by over a centimetre.



Former nurse Maria Brasseur, who had heard the crash in Hampshire, dashed to the scene and help.



The 47-year-old found Mr Denham trying to lift his head – a movement which could have caused any of the broken bones in his neck to sever his spinal cord and leave him dead or paralysed.



The mother-of-four forced him to the ground and pinned him down with her own body to stop him moving.



Thanks to her life-saving action on March 3, 2011, he not only lived but escaped permanent spinal damage and is able to walk today after a long journey of specialist medical treatment.