A bride-to-be who broke her leg in four places on her hen do almost had to have her limb amputated – but was saved by her quick-thinking bridesmaid.
Lula O’Neins, 24, from Frome, Somerset, was letting her hair down at Centre Parcs just eight weeks before her wedding when disaster struck.
She tripped over and broke both bones – the tibia and fibula – in two places, leaving her limb bent out of shape.
Her bridesmaid and sister, Gabrielle George, 26, leapt into action and pulled Lula’s leg to straighten it out. After waiting for six hours for an ambulance, Lula was finally rushed to Royal United Hospitals, Bath, Somerset.
Medics told her that if Gabrielle had not intervened she would have lost the blood supply to the limb, due to how badly broken, it was and would almost certainly have needed it amputated.
Two months after the ordeal, Lula managed to hobble down the aisle to marry her partner, Alex, 26, in one boot and a heel and she spent the rest of their honeymoon in Lake Como, Italy, on crutches.
Lula O’Neins, 24 (right) wearing her foot restraint at her wedding in Italy after she broke it in four places
After waiting for six hours for an ambulance she had operations on it and her leg was put in a plaster cast to heal
Lula underwent a series of operations and now has pins in her ankle and knee and the bone has been hollowed out with a rod put through it to to help it heal.
Lula said: ‘I was so excited for my hen do, but it turned into a bit of a nightmare.
‘I broke my leg in four places and was even told it would have needed to have been amputated if my sister hadn’t snapped it back into position.
‘I might have spent my wedding day and honeymoon limping around in a protective boot and on crutches, but it’s a small price to pay to still have my leg in tact.’
Lula tripped over and broke both bones – the tibia and fibula – in two places, leaving her limb bent out of shape (pictured her leg after the fall)
Lula explained: ‘My groom, Alex, was off to Prague, Czech Republic, for his stag do and that same weekend my bridesmaids had planned on whisking me away too.
‘I’d warned Alex before he left not to go getting arrested or breaking any bones as he’s usually the clumsy one out of the two of us.
‘I didn’t know where we were going or what we would be doing, until we arrived at Centre Parcs in Warminster, Wiltshire.
‘My sister and bridesmaid, Gabrielle, had booked two log cabins with hot tubs for the weekend for us to let our hair down.’
Lula had enjoyed going to the spa, out for lunch and dips in the hot tub with bubbles in hand, but it all went pear-shaped on the final day of her hen do.
Two months after the ordeal, Lula managed to hobble down the aisle to marry her partner, Alex (right), 26, in one boot and a heel
She said: ‘The girls planned such a fun trip. It was supposed to be a relaxing break as planning the wedding had been pretty stressful.
‘We had a great time and I wasn’t even drunk when I tripped over and my leg just went ‘snap’. We’d only had a few glasses of prosecco.’
Lula fell to the floor and rolled around in agony.When she caught sight of her limb it was bent backwards. She said: ‘I couldn’t get up. I was in so much pain.
‘My leg was bent back the wrong way. It was all in the wrong place.
‘One of the girls called an ambulance and the on-site medic, but the medic wasn’t available and there was a wait for paramedics to reach us.
Lula O’Neins made it to her wedding day after the ordeal but had to wear her foot restraint at her wedding in Italy
‘As we were waiting for it to show up, Gabrielle decided to push my leg back into place – thinking it might help, although she has no first aid training. It’s very lucky that she did.
‘I screamed as I felt it pop. She took a picture of my limb and sent it to our mum, Rachel, who is a nurse.
‘She said: ‘Lula’s had a bit of a fall. Do you think her leg is broken?’
‘Mum replied within seconds saying: ‘Yes, definitely. She needs to see a doctor.”
Despite the accident, because there was no blood, Lula’s injury wasn’t considered an emergency so she endured a six-hour wait for the ambulance to arrive.
When paramedics eventually turned up they were shocked to see the state she was in.
Lula spent the rest of their honeymoon in Lake Como, Italy, on crutches after she broke her leg
With one either side, they helped Lula to hop to the vehicle where they strapped a support to her leg.
Gabrielle bundled into the back of the ambulance with Lula and they were rushed to Royal United Hospital, in nearby Bath, Somerset.
Lula said: ‘To keep me distracted and keep my spirits up, Gabrielle decided to play some games.
‘She had set up a game of Mr and Mrs, asking me questions about Alex – having already got his answers from him – to see how well we knew each other.
‘We agreed it was best not to tell Alex what had happened whilst he was away enjoying himself with his mates and to get in touch when he landed.’
When Lula arrived at A&E she was taken straight through for an x-ray.
She said: ‘I was told my leg was broken in four places – the top and bottom of my tibia bone had broken – as had the top and bottom of my fibula.
‘The doctor admitted that Gabrielle’s quick-thinking actions – to bend the leg back – had saved my limb from almost-certain amputation.
Lula now has metal pins inserted into her ankle and knee and the bone hollowed out to put a rod through it – to keep it straight and help it heal
‘They told me “If she hadn’t done that, the blood supply would have been cut off and it’s likely we’d need to take it off.”
‘Instead, they booked me in for an operation to have metal pins inserted into my ankle and knee and the bone hollowed out to put a rod through it – to keep it straight and help it heal.
‘I had to wait for three days before they could fit me in to have the surgery.
‘Thankfully, by that time Alex had returned – unscathed – from his stag do and had rushed to the hospital to join me.’
After a two-hour op and 12 days in hospital Lula was able to be discharged and go home.
Lula O’Neins’ with husband Alex on their honeymoon after the wedding and her ordeal with her leg
But unable to get up the stairs to their second-floor flat, Lula and Alex were forced to move in with her mother until she was more mobile.
She said: ‘With my wheelchair, crutches and a protective boot, I struggled to hobble around.
‘We talked about postponing the wedding, but everything was all booked and paid for and we’d have lost all the money we’d spent. We decided the show must go on.’
Just a few weeks later, when the wedding day rolled around, Lula was confident in her supportive boot.
She said: ‘I was sad I wasn’t able to wear the beautiful heels I’d chosen, but I knew I’d be comfier in flats anyway.
Lula (centre) with her bridesmaids who were at Centre Parcs when she tripped over and broke her leg in four places
‘Luckily, my long dress covered my boot so guests couldn’t see it as I hobbled down the aisle.
‘I ditched my crutches to limp towards Alex and say our vows and in that moment nothing else mattered.
‘I spent the rest of the day on cloud nine – not caring about my dodgy leg.
‘Even when Alex and I jetted off on our honeymoon to Lake Como, Italy, a few days later I wasn’t phased.
‘I’d even got quite attached to my boot.
‘When we got back to the UK, I was scrolling through Facebook when I came across a competition to find the UK’s best bridesmaid.
‘I jokingly entered Gabrielle – after all she quite literally saved my leg – and to my surprise she won it.
‘Even now she likes to remind me just how much I owe her, but it is true, without her quick-thinking actions it could have been a very different story..’