Twenty-two-year-old Brock Meister of Plymouth, Indiana miraculously survived a complete separation of his skull from the spine as a result of a car accident, Science Alert wrote.
In January, Brock downed a few glasses of beer and realized he had had too much, so his friend agreed to drive him home.
All Brock remembers is that he was thrown sideways, his head punching and shattering the window. Despite the severity of his injuries, Brock still thought he might be all right.
“My neck hurt, but I wanted to get up. Luckily [my friend] held me down and wouldn't let me get up until the paramedics got there," Brock recalled.
That friendly restraint may have saved his life.
Brock was rushed to a hospital where he was diagnosed with a traumatic atlanto-occipital dislocation – in other words, an internal decapitation which doctors describe as an almost universally fatal event.
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Doctors used screws and rods to realign Brock's bones and joints. After months of wearing a neck brace and physical therapy, Brock Meister, while still experiencing some pain, has recovered 50 percent of movement in his neck, Science Alert wrote.