A nurse cheated paralysis by a whisker after a cable machine at her local gym snapped and crashed onto her neck, leaving the fitness fanatic suddenly fighting for her life and questioning gym safety standards
A nurse just dodged paralysis after a horrific accident using a common gym machine. The fitness enthusiast opened up about the terrifying moment she broke her neck – and went from being a healthy person helping others to becoming a patient herself in an instant.
Marie Veland, 27, was doing an abdominal exercise with a cable machine at her local gym when the contraption broke and hit her in the neck. “I just heard a loud bang and didn’t really understand what had happened,” she revealed.
The health worker from Moss, Norway, pulled on the machine when its cable snapped and fell on top of her.
She told Norwegian news outlet NRK: “It landed on me, and attached to the cable was a metal lump. I think that’s what hit me in the neck.” The gym’s manager, Sissal Bjerke Hansen, confirmed: “The cable snapped at the connection between the cable and the handle.
“It’s very regrettable that the cable broke, and that this led to such a serious injury.” The impact was reportedly so forceful that Veland immediately realised the seriousness of the situation as she lay on the floor.
She recalled: “I actually said out loud: ‘OK, I think I broke my neck.’ As a nurse, I always think of the worst-case scenario: ‘S–t, I could be paralysed’ and have my whole life ruined.”
At the hospital, Veland’s worst-case scenario went from being a nightmare to a terrifying reality. She subsequently learnt that she had an unstable fracture in her top cervical vertebra.
“That’s when I broke down crying,” Veland admitted. “Because that’s the worst thing that could happen to me.”
Veland has been working out at the same gym since 2017. She explained: “When I pay for a gym membership, I expect everything to be in order.
“I shouldn’t have to check the equipment myself.” As she claimed to have previously noticed wear and tear before, she said: “Several of the cable machines have been out of order recently.”
Manager Hansen said the equipment was inspected before Christmas, and the external service technicians carried out maintenance in both November and December. Nevertheless, gym-goers remain concerned about their safety, with some questioning whether routine checks are thorough enough to prevent serious accidents.
Even though customers expect the equipment to be safe, consumer lawyer Thomas Iversen from the Norwegian Consumer Council explained that gyms operate in a legal gray area. “Gyms are, in many ways, a bit more of a ‘lawless zone’ than other places,” Iversen said
In the UK, gyms are subject to robust health and safety legislation and consumer law, which imposes a clear duty of care on operators to provide a safe environment. As a result, if an individual is injured due to a gym’s negligence, the gym can be held legally liable and ordered to pay compensation.
Despite Norwegian laws having weak protections for gym-goers, Hansen said: “We have full responsibility for ensuring that the equipment is safe and in proper condition.” She added: “Cables have snapped before, but fortunately it’s rare, and never with injuries as severe as Marie’s.”
Marie Veland has since reported the gym to the police. She described her initial contact with the gym as being “vague”.
The nurse’s future now reportedly revolves around rehabilitation, and her dream of competing in fitness competitions has been put on hold. She said: “Right now, the future is very uncertain.
“I hope I’ll be able to get back on my feet, but everything is on hold. But I’m stubborn enough that my plan is to get back to training as soon as the doctors allow it.”
She further wrote in a heartfelt post on her Instagram: “I both flinch and feel a deep sadness when I see myself in the mirror or open the camera on my phone—I hardly recognise the person I see! Life and freedom suddenly feel so fragile!
“In just a few minutes, I went from living an active, ‘normal’ life with shift work, a focus on training, and a job where I helped others, to being the one who now needs help. My everyday life has been turned completely upside down!
“I broke my neck during a workout when the cable snapped on the cable machine! Now I have to wear a neck brace around the clock because of unstable fractures in the upper part of my neck.
“From training hard and having a busy, active daily life, I now have to retrain myself in the simplest, everyday things that most people usually take for granted. My days now consist of a lot of pain, tablets and painkillers, gentle movement, and lots of rest in between.”
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