Australian Olympic swimming champion Brooke Hanson has opened up on her horrific spinal injuries suffered when a family surf trip went wrong.
Hanson, who won gold in the women’s 4x100m medley and silver in the 100m breaststroke at the 2004 Athens Olympics, hit her head on the ground while surfing and suffered extensive injuries.
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Sharing an image of herself in hospital wearing a neck brace last week, Hanson revealed she had micro-fractures on her C3 and C4 and an anterior ligament tear at C3 and C4.
The 45-year-old swimming champion spoke to 7News earlier in the week, revealing the terrifying ordeal.
“I’ve come off my board and my head has hit the bottom of the ocean,” she said.
“I took that leg rope off, laid on my back and just yelled ‘Help’.”
Hanson’s husband Jared Clarke is a firefighter and surf lifesaver and said his training went straight into action.
“I scooped Brooke up onto the board and then we had to just turn her around and I had to take the brunt of the force of waves,” he said.
Hanson was also assisted by other holiday-makers, including a trauma surgeon, lifeguard, firefighter, retired paramedic, two surf lifesavers and a carpenter as well as the managers and staff at the caravan park.
Hanson thanked those who helped her but said when she arrived at Coffs Harbour hospital, she began to ponder her future after the injury.
“Everything was going through my head, would I walk again, have I damaged my spine? I was really freaking out,” she said.
However, Hanson is now recovering at home, sharing a picture of herself in a “$5 garage sale purchase” leather recliner her husband picked up.
She is expected to make a full recovery.
Friends were quick to react to the initial post from Hanson.
Cycling champion Anna Meares wrote: “Shivers! Take care of yourself! So glad you’re OK”.
Fellow swimming legend Giaan Rooney posted: “So glad you are going to be OK! Time for you to be the one to be looked after.”
Hanson had a rollercoaster swimming career after making the 1994 Commonwealth Games as the youngest swimming on the Aussie team at just 16.
She finished fourth in the 200m breaststroke.
But Hanson missed both the Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Olympics before finally qualifying for the Athens Games where she won a gold and a silver medal.
Hanson was also the world short course world champion in the 50m breast, 100m breast, 200m breast, 100m medley and 200m medley at the 2004 World Championships in Indianapolis, as well as the 100m medley at the 2006 Shanghai event.
She also won silver medals in each of the 2002 Manchester and 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games in the 100m breaststroke and 200m medley respectively.
In 2007, she suffered a near-fatal electrocution while climbing out of a spa bath and retired from swimming.
