0:00:02 > 0:00:05'Emergency...'
0:00:05 > 0:00:07With mind-boggling medical mishaps,
0:00:09 > 0:00:10and the quirkiest of casualties.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13My boyfriend dropped a turnip on my foot.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16This is Bizarre E.R.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18'So come on!'
0:00:18 > 0:00:23And for the first time, we've camped out in not one but two British hospitals -
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Northampton General and Bradford Royal Infirmary.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Hello.
0:00:29 > 0:00:34To bring you the curious cases, that are all in a day's work for the stoic staff.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Can you see your pound coin there?
0:00:36 > 0:00:38But which have to be seen to be believed.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40Oh! Phew...
0:00:40 > 0:00:46Plus we've scoured the planet for the people who, thanks to amazing medics,
0:00:46 > 0:00:51have survived the most extraordinary accidents and emergencies known to man.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Nobody believes they're going to get the Black Death.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59So scrub up, sit back and enjoy the sometimes silly,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02often odd but never dull world of Bizarre E.R.
0:01:02 > 0:01:08- All I can say is thank heavens for the NHS.- Thank you.
0:01:21 > 0:01:27Coming up - a weird wound proves too much for one woodsman.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33There's a casualty that's literally eye-watering.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35I can see light - that's a good thing.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40Plus the mind-boggling story of how this woman broke her neck after
0:01:40 > 0:01:45falling from a New Mexico mountain and yet lived to tell us her tale.
0:01:45 > 0:01:52When people fall straight down 20ft that's when terrible damage occurs to the human body,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54and she fell 3 times that far.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04First we're heading to Northampton where budding builder Lewis King
0:02:04 > 0:02:09has come to A&E, not like most brickies with a pencil tucked neatly behind the ear,
0:02:09 > 0:02:13bizarrely, he's stuffed his little scribbler inside his shell-like.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19My grandson has put a pencil down his ear
0:02:19 > 0:02:23and it has broken in the ear
0:02:23 > 0:02:26but it was a week before he told us he did that.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Staff need to get to the point fast as the pencil lurking
0:02:29 > 0:02:33in Lewis' lughole is potentially more serious than you'd think.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36The worst-case scenario is a deep-rooted infection
0:02:36 > 0:02:40and then that can affect his hearing, balance, co-ordination
0:02:40 > 0:02:45and if left long enough could even go deaf with it.
0:02:45 > 0:02:46How big was the pencil?
0:02:46 > 0:02:49That big - that big - smaller?
0:02:51 > 0:02:53So just a tiny bit then? OK.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57Dr Phillip's confident that retrieving the piece of pencil will be a piece of cake.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00So nice and still for me.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03But drawing it out proves more difficult than he hoped.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Well, he's done a good job of it, I'll tell you that.
0:03:06 > 0:03:12After a fair bit of prodding and poking, the pencil - or is it?
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Is that all of it or just part of it?
0:03:14 > 0:03:16That's all of it, I think - yeah, that's all of it.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Let's have a look in your ear - that looks like a watch battery to me.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26- Battery?- You sure it was a pencil?
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Don't think it actually was one.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Where he would have got that from and how it's got in there, I do not know.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Dr Phillip has a quick look to see if there's nothing else in the ear -
0:03:37 > 0:03:40a compass, protractor, the odd AA battery.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42You're doing really well, Lewis.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47Lewis's earhole might be unblocked but it's not all good news for our battery-operated boy.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Right - I can't see your eardrum, which means it's gone,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53which means you've made a hole in it. OK?
0:03:53 > 0:03:59Now that can happen with things like this so it's important
0:03:59 > 0:04:03we don't do anything to repair it or anything, it will repair itself.
0:04:03 > 0:04:09Lucky for Lewis the eardrum is much like skin and should grow back naturally over the next 6 weeks.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13I'll get rid of that for you. Give it a wash when you get home.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18He might have lost an eardrum but Lewis has gained a nice souvenir of his time in A&E,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20and learnt a valuable lesson.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24It's been a bit of an eye-opener for Dr Phillip too.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27The fact that he said it was a pencil and it turned out to be a watch battery -
0:04:27 > 0:04:28I'd say that was pretty bizarre.
0:04:30 > 0:04:35Gran takes little Lewis back to Mum. Let's hope she doesn't give him an earful when he gets home.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45Next tonight we're welcoming a new surgeon to Northampton General,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48but this one's arrived as a patient and not staff.
0:04:48 > 0:04:53Tree surgeon Jim Saunders has come to A&E after a weird woodland run-in.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58I got this caught in the log splitter at work.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Wasn't thinking for a split-second and before I know it,
0:05:02 > 0:05:07I'm dragging my finger out and pulling my glove off and there's blood everywhere.
0:05:07 > 0:05:13Luckily for Jim, emergency nurse practitioner Graham Seaton is on hand to tend to the diced digit.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16- You're a tree surgeon, I take it? - Yeah.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21To find out how much damage has been done by Jim's handshake with a log splitter,
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Graham first checks out his X-rays.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Hopefully the X-ray will be good news.
0:05:28 > 0:05:34His X-ray on the middle phalanx, just a fracture through the middle there.
0:05:34 > 0:05:40The problem being is that he's got a wound as well as the fracture.
0:05:40 > 0:05:41OK.
0:05:43 > 0:05:49- Well, I've had a look at your X-ray James, you've got a fracture down there also.- Bollocks.
0:05:49 > 0:05:56It's not the news Jim was hoping for, he'll have to go up to theatre so surgeons can get a closer look
0:05:56 > 0:05:59at the fractured finger and possibly operate to repair the injury.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Not happy - not happy.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07But before that Graham needs to do a quick patch-up job -
0:06:07 > 0:06:12all the filth of the forest could have wormed its way into Jim's digit,
0:06:12 > 0:06:16which could lead to nasty infections and even blood poisoning.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Graham begins by washing the wound while enjoying a bit of small talk.
0:06:22 > 0:06:27- This a busy time of the year for you, is it?- Yeah, yeah, very busy.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Anyway, were you local today?
0:06:32 > 0:06:33Yeah.
0:06:38 > 0:06:45Next, Graham disinfects the digit with iodine, giving Jim a chance to practise his human beat box routine.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49Ah! Bbbb-rrrr. Jesus! Prrr...
0:06:49 > 0:06:53Graham then injects local anaesthetic to numb the pain,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56and there's more vocal gymnastics from Jim.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Ah. I hate this stuff.
0:07:04 > 0:07:10And finally Graham stitches up the open wound so nothing undesirable can take root in Jim's finger.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16With Graham's work done, Jim heads up to the ward to wait for surgery,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20where our tree lover feels strangely at home.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23I like the name Cedar, it's my favourite tree so I'm happy here.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Jim takes root in the hospital for a couple of days before being sent up to the theatre,
0:07:31 > 0:07:35where his finger got a more thorough clean.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37Luckily he didn't need surgery.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40His finger's been sewn back up and fitted with a Zimmer splint -
0:07:40 > 0:07:44a padded aluminium strip that will help the fracture heal.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48In a couple of months Jim's green fingers will be fit for the forest again.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50It's not as painful now as it was earlier,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53just got to keep it upright and, erm,
0:07:54 > 0:07:58hopefully it will heal. I'm pleased - I really am pleased.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01For now Jim's girlfriend Casey arrives to take him home,
0:08:01 > 0:08:07which means our wounded woodsman can finally make like a tree and LEAF - hah!
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Like Jim, we all sometimes need a helping hand from a nurse,
0:08:14 > 0:08:19who's widely considered to be the angel of the hospital.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21But down the ages the job has been
0:08:21 > 0:08:23done by both saints and sinners.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28For centuries many nurses were employed purely for their breasts -
0:08:28 > 0:08:32"wet nurses" were taken on to suckle the young of wealthy mums,
0:08:32 > 0:08:34who had better things to do
0:08:34 > 0:08:37than breastfeed and bring up their babies.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40What we think of as nursing used to be done by monks and nuns
0:08:40 > 0:08:44until Henry VIII decided to close down all the monasteries.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Following that, patients had to contend with
0:08:48 > 0:08:50some very, very naughty nurses.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55Tending to the sick in the 17th century was no job for a lady.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59It was dirty work and with no NHS, there was no pay.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02So the job fell to the lowliest in society.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Prisoners were made to swap swag for swabs and even prostitutes
0:09:06 > 0:09:10would spend time walking the wards rather than walking the streets.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13- Cheers, darling.- The woman who made nursing respectable was Florence.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17# You've got the love to see me through... #
0:09:17 > 0:09:18Although she didn't have a machine.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22Florence Nightingale came back to Blighty after tending to
0:09:22 > 0:09:25the walking wounded in the Crimean War
0:09:25 > 0:09:27determined to give nursing a good name.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Both the outfit and the job have changed a lot since Florence,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34but the naughty nurse hasn't disappeared altogether
0:09:34 > 0:09:36as one Newcastle-based nurse proves.
0:09:36 > 0:09:37Hello!
0:09:37 > 0:09:40She was struck off in 2006
0:09:40 > 0:09:44after she drew a smiley face on an MRSA sufferer's hernia,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48and placed the false eye of another patient into a glass of Cola
0:09:48 > 0:09:51- before offering it to the Ward Sister.- Aah!
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Naughty, naughty nursey.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03Next we're heading to Bradford Royal Infirmary where a bizarre toilet-related trauma
0:10:03 > 0:10:05has landed Brian Silson in A&E.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09You see Brian hasn't injured his nether regions but his leg,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12and he wasn't in the bathroom when this all happened, but the garden.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16- Brian.- That's me.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Dutiful son Brian was doing a spot of DIY for his mum -
0:10:19 > 0:10:23- knocking up a few shelves in the shed.- No problem, Mum.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28While lugging a bit of MDF across the garden, Brian failed to spot a discarded throne
0:10:28 > 0:10:33that Mum had chucked out years before and plunged his leg straight into the lav,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36losing his grip on the plank.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39But a bash to the bonce was the least of his worries.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Once indoors Brian realised that it was the cut from the khazi
0:10:43 > 0:10:47that had done him the serious damage so hobbled at speed to A&E.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50Brian, be a love and clean up the carpet when you get back.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54More squeamish viewers might want to take a loo break now
0:10:54 > 0:10:58before Brian reveals the damage done by his peculiar porcelain slipper.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05Better to get it all stitched up cos I don't like the look of my own muscle moving about.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12Lifting the lid on Brian's bog blunder is emergency nurse practitioner Sam Waterhouse.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14I take it this toilet has been used?
0:11:14 > 0:11:19Oh, yeah, it's been ripped out of a bathroom. Yeah, it is. Yeah.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23We all hate it when a trip to the toilet results in a slash on the leg,
0:11:23 > 0:11:28but Brian's injuries are especially worrying as the dirty dunny will be riddled with harmful bacteria,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31which could lead to severe blood poisoning.
0:11:33 > 0:11:39I can't see any toilet in there but we'll get an X-ray just to make sure you've got nowt floating about.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43Concerned there are bits of bog still in the wound, Sam sends Brian for X-rays,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45which are inspected by Dr Sara Edmondson.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50We're looking for any foreign bodies and these would show up white, like of the bone,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53but, as you see, there isn't any foreign bodies.
0:11:53 > 0:12:00While there aren't any foreign bodies there could well be masses of germs, including tetanus.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03So Brian will need a couple of jabs to prevent infection,
0:12:03 > 0:12:10including the mighty Hattie, which combats any toxins caused by tetanus just in case it's already set in.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13It would be in his interests to have the Hattie,
0:12:13 > 0:12:16but, erm, it's a big needle, goes in his bottom.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19I do have a fear of needles.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21He's not going to like it at all.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27Are you ready, Brian? Right where do you want it first, arm or bottom?
0:12:27 > 0:12:31- We'll do your bottom first. - Just the word "needle".
0:12:32 > 0:12:35You'll just feel a sharp prick, OK?
0:12:40 > 0:12:41How was that?
0:12:41 > 0:12:43- I were fine with that.- OK?- Yeah.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47I wish they were all like that, you know what I mean?
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Brian's needle nightmare isn't over yet.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55After a jab to the arm, the leg wounds need to be stitched up, which means local anaesthetic
0:12:55 > 0:12:57followed by yes, more needles.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Painful, is it, Brian?
0:13:02 > 0:13:05It's quite hard to pull the edges together.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14By our count, brave Brian's had to endure 32 punctures and piercings this evening,
0:13:14 > 0:13:18which mean medics have not only managed to lace up his leg -
0:13:18 > 0:13:20they've probably cured his fear of needles, too.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Feeling a lot better now - now it's closed up, anyway.
0:13:25 > 0:13:31Finally Brian's free to go without having had chance to finish off his DIY chores.
0:13:31 > 0:13:37Although it turns out Mumsey decided it might be safer if she put up the shelves in the shed herself.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47While toilets are a haven of tranquillity for some,
0:13:47 > 0:13:51each year a staggering 15,000 people come a cropper on the crapper.
0:13:51 > 0:13:52Ouch!
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Over half of all accidents are caused
0:13:56 > 0:13:59by mishandling mobiles mid-stool.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Such was the case of the 26-year-old traveller in France who,
0:14:02 > 0:14:06while trying to retrieve his phone, was dragged down the dunny,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09and had to be stretchered away with the pan still attached.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Francois, I shall call you back I have had a really crappy day.
0:14:12 > 0:14:13More bizarre still
0:14:13 > 0:14:15are the bogs that blow up.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17In January 2010 it was reported
0:14:17 > 0:14:20that one toilet tripper's lit cigarette ignited the methane
0:14:20 > 0:14:24produced by decomposing waste in a public loo in Ghana.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27The explosion blew off the poor fella's "little fella"
0:14:27 > 0:14:29and caused serious damage
0:14:29 > 0:14:30to his nether regions.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Unlike in more tropical climes,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36we don't have as many creepy crawlies lurking in our lavs,
0:14:36 > 0:14:37but that doesn't mean
0:14:37 > 0:14:39other predators aren't prowling the porcelain.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42As Maxine Killingback from Deptford found out.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45While giving the rim a rinse, she was savaged by a rat.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Ey! There's a bleeding rat down the khazi.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51But not all loos are potentially lethal.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54In fact in Japan you can find talking toilets
0:14:54 > 0:14:56that diagnose health problems based on your urine's blood sugar.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58Your wee is good.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03Or by measuring body fat by sending a mild electric charge through your bum cheeks by the seat.
0:15:03 > 0:15:04Time to go, fatso.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Who needs a GP when you've got a WC?
0:15:07 > 0:15:08I have not finished!
0:15:11 > 0:15:15Beyond Bradford there's a great big world of bizarre accidents.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20In this series we've scoured the globe to bring you the most extraordinary emergencies on Earth.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27Across the pond in New Mexico, a hiking trip turned to horror,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31when one woman, while lost on a mountain, took a 200ft tumble
0:15:31 > 0:15:35that should have finished her off, but bizarrely, didn't.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Sports scientist Gilly Mara is the sporty outdoor type.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Sport has been my life for years,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48ever since the age of about sort of 12 or 13.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51She even qualified for the British Canoeing team.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53It's a way of being free, actually.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55I couldn't be without being in a boat.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59You might think Gilly's love for the outdoors would be good for her health.
0:15:59 > 0:16:05In fact it nearly killed her when, in a terrifying mountain tumble, she broke her neck.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08I'd say she is one of the luckiest people I'd ever seen.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Walking with a friend in the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico, USA,
0:16:15 > 0:16:20all Gilly wanted was to watch the famous sunset from the high mountain ridge.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25I thought it would be nice to go for a walk, spend the day outside, cos it was nice warm weather.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29I'm in shorts and in a swimsuit, believe it or not.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34It just wasn't their lucky day and they soon lost the trail.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36It can be very treacherous,
0:16:36 > 0:16:37there's cliffs everywhere.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40It's very steep and rugged.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44it's not something that you would take your grandmother on, for sure.
0:16:44 > 0:16:50- It's dangerous.- With each footstep I think sort of we'd put ourselves into a worse and worse position.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Completely lost, blundering through the wilderness,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56they were exhausted and panic set in.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00I think it was beyond panic, actually, to be honest.
0:17:00 > 0:17:01Either we were in floods of tears
0:17:01 > 0:17:05or I was just trying to kind of calm myself down and talk to myself.
0:17:06 > 0:17:12In desperation, they started to climb across the face of the mountain, looking for a way down.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16I was very much out of my depth and we'd started climbing and I'm not a climber.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Now very weak, Gilly came to the horrific realisation
0:17:20 > 0:17:24that for her there was only one way off the mountain.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27I knew I couldn't hold on for much longer
0:17:27 > 0:17:30and I called out to my friend and said, "I'm sorry, I can't hold on."
0:17:30 > 0:17:34And then I...I let go.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40Gilly fell 60ft down the sheer cliff face, smashing against the rock.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45I hit the floor on my back and kind of rolled and then sort of tossed into the air.
0:17:45 > 0:17:52When people fall straight down 20 feet, that's when terrible damage occurs to the human body -
0:17:52 > 0:17:54broken arms, broken legs, broken back.
0:17:54 > 0:17:5820 feet is about the limit and she fell three times that far.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02The impact was like a major car crash.
0:18:02 > 0:18:09Then Gilly tumbled on another 140 feet, strike after strike, crash after crash.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14On the sixth sort of time I hit the ground I just stopped. Everything was just quiet.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18The miracle was - she was alive.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22I sort of started moving my right hand up to my hairline
0:18:22 > 0:18:25and it felt quite sticky - I realised I was actually touching my skull.
0:18:25 > 0:18:30I slightly moved my right leg, and a big sort of shooting pain went up.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Huge amount of pain, pain you can't even describe.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39X-rays revealed that Gilly's agony was caused by a broken pelvis.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42The pelvis is a tremendously difficult bone to break.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45You usually see this with car collisions at great speed.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47She must have hit something
0:18:47 > 0:18:50pretty hard, and pretty fast
0:18:51 > 0:18:52to break that pelvis.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56In a bone-breaking smash like this,
0:18:56 > 0:19:02the biggest fear is the soft internal organs crashing against the skeleton and tearing open.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05The liver, the spleen, the kidneys - could have ruptured.
0:19:05 > 0:19:11You can rip your aorta and just bleed to death. It's sheer luck that this didn't happen to Gilly.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15Gilly seems blessed with a bizarre kind of good luck.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19It was remarkable - she had no internal injuries. Absolutely nothing.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25As the light faded, her friend went for help.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29The sunset Gilly so wanted to watch was now a terrifying prospect.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32The cold dark night bit into her broken bones.
0:19:32 > 0:19:38It was getting much sort of colder and I was just starting to shiver a hell of a lot.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41It was really, really eerily quiet.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44All I could hear was the rustling of the wind.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Gilly didn't know whether help would ever come.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Her luck, it seems, was running out.
0:19:49 > 0:19:56Five search teams had been hunting all night but it wasn't until nearly dawn that Gilly was spotted.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59And the next thing I knew I was in the hospital.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02I was going through double doors, with hundreds of doctors around me.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Gilly's smashed pelvis was not the only broken bone.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10During the fall she had also broken her neck.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12The neck is comprised of seven bones,
0:20:12 > 0:20:13stacked on top of one another,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16with the spinal cord running right through the middle.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21When subjected to severe force, one thing that can happen is called jump for set,
0:20:21 > 0:20:23when one of the bones jumps out of place.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25The spinal cord goes with that,
0:20:25 > 0:20:29you could wind up with a severed spinal cord and be completely paralysed.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34Before the operation, the surgeon wasn't sure if Gilly's luck had finally run out.
0:20:35 > 0:20:41During hours of complex surgery, it was touch and go whether she would be paralysed from the chest down.
0:20:41 > 0:20:46In Gilly's case the bones had jumped out and yet the spinal cord appeared to be unaffected.
0:20:49 > 0:20:55When I woke up from the operation the first thing I did was open my eyes,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57and I was like, "I made it! I made it!"
0:20:57 > 0:21:02Gilly escaped paralysis in another lucky break.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Falling off a mountain is a very unlucky thing.
0:21:06 > 0:21:11Spending a night up on the mountain after falling from a great height is a very unlucky thing.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15But, in Gilly's case, the more we looked and the harder we looked,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19the more amazed we were at how lucky this woman really was.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22In some bizarre way, Gilly's glad she nearly died out there.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26Without the experience, she wouldn't be successful
0:21:26 > 0:21:30as an international canoeist and University Sports Scientist.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33There are things about the accident that I think are definitely bad,
0:21:33 > 0:21:36but there is so much good that has come out of it.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40I am a lot more determined than what I was and I want to do things.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45I want to see the world and there's too many things I've got to do.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Time now to enter the Bizarre E.R. confessional.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02We've invited medics from across the land to share the funniest
0:22:02 > 0:22:06and freakiest things they've seen in A&E.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10These stories might sound far-fetched but they're all 100% true.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Never underestimate the authority you have as a doctor.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26I was seeing an old chap who'd come up to A&E breathless.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30He'd been off for tests and I went out to bring him into the cubicle
0:22:30 > 0:22:32to tell him the results.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35He was sat next to an elderly woman, so I just assumed.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38I said, "Come in, Mr Thompson. Would you come in as well?"
0:22:38 > 0:22:41I told him all his details and turned to her and said,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44"Have you any questions you'd like to ask, Mrs Thompson."
0:22:44 > 0:22:46She said, "I'm not Mrs Thompson."
0:22:46 > 0:22:51I said, "Sorry, what relationship are you to Mr Thompson?" "I've never met him before in my life."
0:22:51 > 0:22:57I said, "What in God's name are you doing in here, listening to intimate details of this man's condition?"
0:22:57 > 0:23:01She said, "Oh, with you running late, I thought you were seeing us two at a time."
0:23:05 > 0:23:07I was on duty one day and I saw a gentleman,
0:23:07 > 0:23:12for some bizarre reason decided to insert a pint glass into his rectum.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19As you can see from this X-ray this is really a situation of a beer
0:23:19 > 0:23:21reaching the parts that others really never reach.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30It's back to Bradford Royal Infirmary for our final case.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34Where we're not witnessing the launch of a bizarre new beauty spa.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37This is Darren Presswell.
0:23:37 > 0:23:42He's been rushed into A&E with an eye-watering injury and he's at risk of losing his sight.
0:23:42 > 0:23:47I'm really sorry, darling, it is the most uncomfortable procedure to do.
0:23:47 > 0:23:53Darren was transporting a truck load of dry cement to a local factory.
0:23:53 > 0:23:59Suddenly in the middle of a delivery a high-pressure hose from his lorry to a silo broke.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02Without warning cement dust exploded straight into his face.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03Aargh!
0:24:03 > 0:24:09And the toxic power shower of chemicals immediately started burning into his eyes.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13If you can - I know it's hard, but if you can try and open your eye a bit.
0:24:14 > 0:24:20Despite the blinding pain, brave Darren sits back and calmly endures his tear-jerking treatment.
0:24:20 > 0:24:21Head this way.
0:24:21 > 0:24:27Although it looks like water torture, this jet wash is the only way medics can save Darren's sight.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29It's important to irrigate the eyes
0:24:29 > 0:24:32with normal saline which your body's made up of,
0:24:32 > 0:24:33so that's the first step.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36We need to get the concrete out of his eyes because it burns quickly.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40It can be very serious, cos that's long-term damage.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43- What's happened to you, fella? - You what?
0:24:43 > 0:24:46- This is our consultant - Mr Wilson. - Can you see me all right?
0:24:46 > 0:24:48If you say he's handsome, forget it, you're not seeing right well.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Oh! Look how beautiful I am! Ha-ha!
0:24:52 > 0:24:55We need to make a formal assessment of your vision.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58The priority is to get these rinsed out as best we can, all right?
0:24:58 > 0:25:00That's cold.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04Cement's made from limestone, which is an alkali.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09It's more dangerous than acid as it continues to bore into the skin long after the initial contact.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12You feel it burning straightaway, as soon as it hits you in the face.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16It just feels like you've got a lot of grit in your eye.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21Just going to check his pH, and all we do is stick this in his eye. Shut your eye.
0:25:23 > 0:25:29It should be roundabout here and it's roundabout there at the moment.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Eventually the sluicing seems to be working.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35I can see light. That's a good thing.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40It is, it is. And I can see your eyeball compared to last time!
0:25:40 > 0:25:45Anne's hoping that the 9 litres of saline she's sloshed around Darren's
0:25:45 > 0:25:49scorched eyeballs will have flushed out almost all of the noxious dust.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52- Can you read to the red line? - D...E...
0:25:52 > 0:25:57So Dr Brad can now come back to assess any impact on Darren's vision.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59I can't see the rest of it.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01..and take a closer look at the cornea.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Just look forward for me if that's all right.
0:26:04 > 0:26:09You've got quite a lot of damage on top of that where it's burned the cornea which is the top of the eye.
0:26:09 > 0:26:10Yeah, on this one, too.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13A more thorough peer into Darren's peepers is needed.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17This time by eye specialist Dr Hardisty,
0:26:17 > 0:26:21who's probably the first person today to give Darren some good news.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25His pH is about 7, so that's pretty good - excellent.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Things are looking up but Dr Hardisty still needs to inspect Darren's cornea.
0:26:29 > 0:26:30Straight ahead again.
0:26:30 > 0:26:36The cornea is the dome-shaped surface that covers the front of the eye and it needs to be smooth and
0:26:36 > 0:26:39as clear as glass for good vision.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42If the caustic dust cloud's done major damage,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46Darren could be looking at serious and long-term problems with his sight.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51Looks like a relatively mild to moderate severity alkaline injury.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55We'll give you some drops which make the pupils larger and relax the eye.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59We'll also start you on antibiotic drops to prevent any infection.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03My expectation is by tomorrow, he'll be feeling more comfortable,
0:27:03 > 0:27:05but certainly for the next 24/48 hours
0:27:05 > 0:27:07he'll have significant discomfort.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09It's important to manage that for him.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Thanks to the swift action of the Bradford staff, doctors are hopeful
0:27:13 > 0:27:16that within a week most of the burns to the cornea will heal.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21He may need corrective glasses in future but considering how severe his injury was,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Darren's been very lucky. The medics have saved his sight.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31Next time on Bizarre E.R. -
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Love truly hurts for one single lady.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Love is the most dangerous game to play.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40A disjointed defender has a foot that is seriously offside.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43I told the ambulance - just pop it back in and I'll carry on.
0:27:43 > 0:27:50And the curious tale of how an artist survived being skewered by a two-metre metal rod
0:27:50 > 0:27:53when she impaled herself on her own sculpture.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55I tried to work out why my arm was stuck in the air.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00When I went to introduce myself to her, I said, "Hi, I'm Jules. I'm a... Whoa!"
0:28:11 > 0:28:14Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd