54-year-old woman escapes death after being impaled by wooden chair she 'kicked out of the way'

The receptionist at a 54-year-old veterinary practice escaped death by just centimeters after a horrific accident in which she was impaled on a rotten wooden chair.

Jackie Stride from West Sussex was busy in the back yard of her farm when she noticed the chair – which had rotted away, leaving an exposed thorn.

To protect her wandering goats from the dangerous sharp edge, she kicked it over so that the nail fell to the side.

However, she slipped and fell on the nail, which severed her right thigh just above the back of the knee.

At first Mrs. Stride thought the wood had only torn her pants, hobbled back into the house and made herself a cup of tea before seeking medical attention.

The mother of two stopped by the trio last month when she saw that part of a wooden chair her husband had built for the animals had rotted away, leaving a large thorn exposed.

On the fourth attempt, Ms. Stride slipped and was thrown over the top of the nail. She twisted and fell, landing unluckily on her right leg.

It was only when her husband David, 69, came home from walking the dogs that she realized the extent of her injuries.

David took a photo of the wound to show her what she couldn't see: a three-inch cut.

When Mrs Stride saw the picture she suddenly felt dizzy and was immediately taken to the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

The paramedics who examined her found that the wound was almost as deep as it was wide.

They cleaned it, but were concerned that it might contain splinters and that it might pose an infection risk because the wood had been used in an animal enclosure.

She was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton that same day, where she saw a specialist and underwent special surgery the following day to remove any tiny foreign objects that had entered her leg alongside the stake.

It wasn't until her husband, David, took a photo of the wound and showed her that it was a 7cm long cut just above the back of her right knee that she realized the extent of her injury.

When Ms Stride saw the image she suddenly felt dizzy. She was immediately taken to hospital where she underwent surgery and the wound was closed with eight stitches before she was sent home.

But after two nights in the hospital, she came home with eight stitches in her leg.

Looking back on her original injury, Ms Stride said: “Part of it (the chair) had rotted and broken off, leaving this big spike.”

“Originally it was rounded and the pieces on the other side had obviously rotted and fallen off and there was this horrible big sharp point.

“I looked at it and thought they might get impaled on it, but I never thought for a second that I would get impaled on it.”

“I really tried to protect my goats. At first I was really scared.”

Even now, as she recovers, Ms. Stride said she is still shocked at how little the original injury hurt.

Although she was injured while doing her job, Ms Stride said the goats were completely unaware of her distress and the injury she had suffered because of them.

The mother of two, pictured here with her husband David, said she was lucky to be alive because a forward fall onto the pole could have risked damaging a vital artery.

“I still can't really believe how little it hurt because if you see a picture of it you would think it must be absolutely unbearable but honestly it wasn't,” she said.

Although she was injured in the line of duty, Ms. Stride said the goats were completely unaware of her distress and the injuries she had sustained because of them.

“The goats had no idea, they were happily grazing, jumping up the fence and trying to get blackberries like they do in their own little world,” she said.

“Normally they would constantly harass me, they really are like dogs, they follow you everywhere, but this time they were obviously more interested in the blackberries and the grass, the little rascals.”

“They weren't really grateful, they didn't even raise their heads.”

She currently uses her husband's electric scooter to get around and admits that, overall, she has gotten off lightly.

“I'm incredibly lucky because if I had fallen forward instead of backward, the shot would probably have gone straight through my femoral artery and in that case I wouldn't be here now.

“It was absolutely lucky to get away with it. Once you hit the femoral artery, there's no turning back.”

“And I could have easily slipped forward and it probably would have flown right into my groin.”