Retiree, 64, with ultra-fragile bones breaks her spine after coiling back in surprise at the sight of a lizard in her garden

  • Carole from Central Coast, NSW, was diagnosed with osteopenia in 2004 
  • In 2015 she was startled by a lizard in her garden and endured months of pain 
  • Diagnosis was a shock as Carole lives a healthy lifestyle and avoids junk food

By Zoe Zaczek For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 23:03 EST, 29 November 2018 | Updated: 23:13 EST, 29 November 2018

Carole (pictured), from Glenning Valley, Central Coast, NSW, was diagnosed with osteopenia just after her 50th birthday in 2004

Carole (pictured), from Glenning Valley, Central Coast, NSW, was diagnosed with osteopenia just after her 50th birthday in 2004

A retired business consultant broke her spine after flinching at a lizard in her garden.

Carole, from Glenning Valley, Central Coast, NSW, was diagnosed with osteopenia just after her 50th birthday in 2004.

The 64-year-old told Daily Mail Australia she didn't think much of her initial diagnosis because she was living a healthy lifestyle.

'But then I started to break bones,' she said.

In the ten years following the diagnosis, Carole was in and out of hospital for fracturing multiple bones including her wrist, ribs and sternum. 

In March 2015, Carole was cleaning out a garden drain when she was startled by a lizard - an incident that would cause her months of relentless pain.

'I was on my hands and knees, ideal for cleaning out a drain, not bending awkwardly, not doing anything and this water dragon, jumped off the deck and landed on my shoulder,' she said. 

'I was startled, I didn't scream, I didn't leap up or anything but from that moment forward I had awful pain in my abdomen.' 

In March 2015, Carole was cleaning out a garden drain when she was startled by a water dragon - an incident that would cause her months of relentless pain (stock image)

In March 2015, Carole was cleaning out a garden drain when she was startled by a water dragon - an incident that would cause her months of relentless pain (stock image)

'It progressively got worse over the next three months.' 

After months of severe paint and doctors checkups, scans revealed several vertebrae had compressed and fractured in her lower lumber.

She spent the next three months in hospital and was given a tailored pain management regime to eventually regain mobility. 

'Since then, I've had a minor fall and landed on my bottom and broke my sternum for the second time,' Carole said.

'A couple of months back, I slipped on a mandarin and fractured and compressed two more vertebrae.'

Carole said a lot of friends have commented on how the latter incident is similar to the recent Bunnings BBQ onion safety saga.

Carole (pictured) said she has lost nine centimetres in height due to the damage sustained to her spine

Carole (pictured) said she has lost nine centimetres in height due to the damage sustained to her spine

Carole said she's in permanent pain and she finds it 'very hard to cope with'.

'I've also lost nine centimetres in height due to the damage I sustained to my spine,' she said.

'I'm in constant pain because of the way it all sits, nothing sits right.'

Carole says 'my low rise jeans are now high jeans' when she has to explain to people how she's lost her height.

'I can measure in the morning and then at the end of the day and I've lost another four centimetres, depending on how much time I have spent upright because of the compression and the way my spine is now.'

'My spine is terrible, it's shocking.'

She said her suffering is often 'disguised' as she doesn't look like she has something visibly wrong. 

'I was on my hands and knees, ideal for cleaning out a drain, not bending awkwardly, not doing anything and this water dragon, jumped off the deck and landed on my shoulder,' she said about the 2015 incident (stock image)

'I was on my hands and knees, ideal for cleaning out a drain, not bending awkwardly, not doing anything and this water dragon, jumped off the deck and landed on my shoulder,' she said about the 2015 incident (stock image)

Carole hopes her story will urge other people aged 50 and over to undergo a bone mineral density (BMD) test to see if they're suffering from this disease as 'the earlier the intervention, the better the outcome'.

Her own diagnosis was a shock to the system as she had always lived a healthy lifestyle.

'I'm a gym bunny, I don't eat junk food, I think I've been to McDonald's once in my life,' she said. 

Carole is supportive of the new Asia Pacific Fragility Fracture Alliance, which formed in Sydney on Thursday, to help raise awareness and spread the importance of being proactive in regards to bone health. 

'It's time that people took their bone health very seriously, and recognised that by taking action sooner rather than later, painful fractures may be avoided,' she said.

'I hope this Alliance enables people to develop a much better picture of the disease and its potential impact, because it is largely hidden, given it is a silent disease'.

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Retiree, 64, with ultra-fragile bones breaks her spine after sighting a lizard in her garden

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