Josie Kuntze: Fitness freak reveals she woke one morning to discover horrifying injury caused DAY BEFORE
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: A young woman narrates a horrifying incident in which she cracked her spine while lifting weights at the gym and was completely unaware of it until the next morning when she awoke with no ability to move a muscle. She recalled being in agonizing pain the morning after training her legs and couldn't walk at all.
Josie Kuntze, a Sydney resident who worked at the gym, was getting ready for a World Beauty Fitness and Fashion (WBFF) competition at the beginning of 2018. She was deadlifting and squatting 265 pounds during a leg workout. Everything appeared to be fine until the next morning.
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'The pain was unbearable'
"I went home to bed, woke up and couldn't move. The pain was unbearable," Josie, now 27, said, as per Daily Mail. "My boyfriend at the time had to carry me into the car and take me straight to the hospital." Josie spent four months in the hospital before recovering at home for two months. Her back is still not the same now, and physiotherapists predict that it probably never will be.
She went twice to the emergency hospital, endured agonizing seven-hour waits each time, and was eventually given Panadol to take home. "I was crying, screaming and couldn't walk on my own. I have no idea why doctors didn't do any scans," Josie said.
'I was in that hospital for months'
When her mother had enough, she transported Josie to another hospital where MRI and CT scans were performed by medical professionals. After some investigation, it was discovered that Josie had many fractures in her spine and several bulging and ruptured disks. "I was in that hospital for months. Couldn't shower on my own, couldn't brush my own hair.. it was truly a difficult time for me," she said. "Doctors basically said it's a matter of the bone healing over time - because obviously my whole back couldn't be put in a cast." "I was young, in my 20s, and loved exercising, so it was really difficult being still and laying in a hospital bed for so long," Josie added.
'I had to learn how to take my first steps again'
She had always wanted to travel since she was a young child, but the accident derailed her plans. She gradually regained her ability to walk after undergoing rehabilitation and spending six months working with chiropractors and physiotherapists. At one point, Josie wasn't sure whether she would ever be able to walk again. "I had to learn how to take my first steps again, I felt like I was 60," Josie said. "When I eventually got back on my feet, my physio told me 'This isn't something that can be fixed, it can only be managed.' To be honest hearing those words honestly made me feel better, because I had worried for so long what the outcome would be."
Today, she has trouble with the little things, like touching her toes, making the bed, and climbing stairs. "I can't do what I was once capable of; I can only walk around 8,000 steps a day before my back starts to hurt, I can't vacuum or mop floors, or even bend down to play with the dog," she said. "I can't sit for long periods without pain, which makes flights over four hours really challenging."
Who is Josie Kuntze?
Josie who crossed off additional places from her bucket list, including the US, Thailand, and South East Asia began creating videos for both YouTube and TikTok while she was traveling. She is now a full-time content creator with a combined following of more than 500,000 followers. She twice won Creator On The Rise on YouTube in Australia and New Zealand last year, which was a significant accomplishment.