After nearly a decade indoors, agoraphobic grandmother Janet Faal had finally worked up the courage to leave her home and brave the world outside. Her reward? Two black eyes, a broken leg, and a fall down an open manhole.



Apparently, Janet’s debilitating fear of open spaces had kept her from leaving her home all but twice in a span of 10 years, but she was finally beginning to conquer her fears. Then, on a recent excursion with a friend as part of her rehabilitation, Janet went to move a wooden pallet blocking the car’s path. Unfortunately, Janet never looked to see what the pallet was covering, and accidentally stepped straight into the now-open manhole. As Janet told The Daily Mail:

I took a step over - never in my life did I think there was a hole underneath, I thought it had just fallen over. The next thing I remember is the pain. It was awful. I fell and smashed my face on the pallet, and I was in the hole with blood all over me and I couldn’t move.’

Janet believes the incident has set her agoraphobia recovery process back years—and even fears she may never leave her home again. Which is understandable considering she had to “wait in agony” for almost an hour before the paramedics arrived.

On the one hand, Janet’s at least lucky to be alive, considering that people have died in similar incidents before. On the other—damn, Janet. [The Daily Mail]

Image via Shutterstock .