By Rory Gannon

Copyright dailystar

A British mum has almost died after yawning so hard it broke her neck . She was thankfully rushed to hospital and saved, but the experience has left her with serious and permanent damage. Hayley Black had to be taken to be seen by doctors after the freak accident, but she claimed that medics initially did not take her seriously. She is now on specific medication to treat her long-lasting injuries and has issued an urgent warning against yawning so hard. In the harrowing incident, Hayley began her day just like any other, as she tended to her young toddler Amelia. Seeing she needed a bottle of milk as she was hungry, she was able to grab the little tot some much needed food before she “instinctively” let out a yawn and stretched her muscles to start the day. However, what would normally be a simple and easy way to wake up Hayley’s body would in fact have the opposite effect, as she instantly felt an “electric shock” run right through her body during the incident in May of 2016. After this, she was unable to drop her arm, which was now seemingly “stuck in the air”. Asking her husband Ian to call an ambulance, Hayley admitted she had already known there was something wrong inside of her. She was eventually rushed to hospital by medics, all while she was in “excruciating pain” whilst she was seen by doctors. Initially, medics reportedly did not believe her when she presented herself at A&E, after scans seemingly showed nothing wrong. However, further tests showed that the C6 and C7 bones in her neck had “shot forwards into her spine” because of the “force of her yawn”. As a result of the strength of the yawn, Hayley was rushed into emergency surgery to try and restore the displaces spinal bones’ original position. But going into the operation, Hayley was told there was a 50/50 chance she may never walk again, but thankfully the surgery was a success. Explaining her story on TikTok , mum-of-two Hayley shared her story, revealing that her spine is now “compressed” following the incident. Former emergency call handler Hayley has since had to leave her job as she now suffers from permanent nerve damage that means she cannot work. The experience has left Hayley so traumatised of yawning, she is now actively trying to stop herself from yawning, even when it is involuntary. “I was screaming in pain all night and I had the gas and air,” she recalled of her hospital stint. “I remember my mum being there while they put me to sleep,” she continued. “I woke up and they’d restored all functions which was amazing; I’m so lucky but I’m still really traumatised.” Speaking on the long road to recovery, Hayley revealed that she is now suffering from fibromyalgia — a chronic illness that lasts for a very long time. She confessed that the journey is long both emotionally and physically, but she has a good support network, thanks to her husband. But she admitted that the entire experience has left her family homeless following the freak accident. “I’m still struggling from the nerve damage today,” she explained, “I often get pains going down my arms, shooting down my back and up into my neck and my head.” For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters .