Bride-to-be paraplegic after being playfully pushed into pool by her bridesmaids.

[woo me with science]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/bride-paralyzed-freak-bachelorette-party-accident/story?id=12163284

By EMILY FRIEDMAN
Nov. 17, 2010

Rachelle Friedman says she remembers the very moment she went from bride-to-be -- just a month away from her dream wedding -- to wheelchair-bound, paralyzed from good-natured horseplay gone terribly wrong at her own bachelorette

"It all happened very quickly," Friedman, 25, told ABCNews.com. Friedman had been out celebrating her pending nuptials with her bridesmaids when they decided to go for a swim at the end of the night.

"We got home, ran upstairs and changed into our bathing suits," said Friedman. "My best friend -- and she still is my best friend -- she playfully pushed me in like we've done a million times."

(more at link)


Geez. And I can't even imagine how the bridesmaids must feel now, too.

[Raine]

1. Very sad

what an awful thing to happen at the happiest time of your life. :-(

[woo me with science]

2. This is from November - sorry.

I saw it on a current blog and followed the link without noticing.

Mods can delete if you want. I just posted it because I saw the post about monkeys helping paraplegics, and it just struck me as so sad.

[JVS]

3. Nobody ever won a game of horseplay.

[hlthe2b]

4. Wow.. talk about handling a situation with grace...

I wish them only the best. HOpefully some of that stem cell research that is ongoing may eventually help her and those like her. That would make Christopher Reeve smile--wherever he might be.

[Tunkamerica]

6. Reeve

[hlthe2b]

7. thanks... (must not post/type after ambien)

;)

[tavalon]

10. First rule of fight club......

Oh, wait, that's the second rule. First rule, never drive on Ambien. I'll admit to having broken the second rule, never the first, thank goodness. Considering the stupid things I have done on Ambien, I'm grateful that my superego has never, ever justified driving. I never get amnesia with it anymore, either. That can be good or bad. Anyway, you're dead asleep by now and I'm rambling.

[old mark]

5. Pools are very dangerous. There are more swimming fatalities in the US

than gun accidents every year by a large margin.

mark

[tavalon]

11. Actually, it's not so much the pools as the people cavorting around them

But yeah, shallow concrete covered with water is a pretty dangerous mix.

[old mark]

12. There is one child drowning per 11,000 pools per year in the US-

Fatal gun accidents are one per several million.
Many more people are paralysed in diving ccidents and falls into and around pools...not a very smart thing to do.

mark

[Occulus]

8. Another relevant point

As Friedman continued outpatient rehab, she quickly learned how fast her medical bills were piling up. Now she says that even though she still dreams of her "perfect wedding," marrying Chapman would make her ineligible for Medicaid, health insurance she says will help her stay out of debt.

"I'm pretty much screwed," said Friedman. "My insurance through my non-profit where I worked allows me only 20 days of rehab, which isn't enough."

"And if I marry Chris, will be too much to qualify for Medicaid," she said.

Polite words for the President and the Congress regarding the health care legislation utterly fail me here.

[PufPuf23]

9. Ugly is polite if true. I don't want a society that values military and corporations over empathy nt

[timtom]

16. +1

[HEyHEY]

13. Aw, man, that fucking sucks.

She's young, let's just hope that the doctor's first diagnosis was wrong.

[cali]

14. this is why your mother told you not to horse around the edge of the pool

this is a very forgiving young woman.

[LeftinOH]

15. Pushing people into pools isn't as funny or as harmless as TV sitcoms suggest.

[formercia]

17. A lot of stupid shit happens on TV

and there's a lot of stupid people who think that if it's on TV, it must be OK to try.

The US has a collective IQ about 30 points below Afghan Hillbillies.