It was like, 'Oh my God, I cannot believe it!" Vera was taken to hospital, where she learned that she had broken a vertebrae when she hit the water.
Roper quit racing in 1955 after breaking a vertebra in a sprint car accident.
But the fall broke a vertebra, and since then she's had trouble walking and standing for any extended period.
Blake suffered a truly horrible 2004, breaking a vertebra in his neck after a freak accident in Rome, losing his father to cancer and then enduring stress-related facial paralysis.
MARSHALL, FORMER VIKING, IN CAR WRECK: Jim Marshall, the former Minnesota Viking who started more games than any other defensive player in N.F.L. history, broke a vertebra and some ribs in an auto accident last Friday in Rochester, Minn.
Lance Armstrong, the two-time Tour de France champion, broke a vertebra in his neck when he collided with a car last month, but the cyclist still plans to race at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
But more recently too, when I broke a vertebra in my back in 2009 – the year women's boxing was allowed into the Olympics – and I was bed-ridden for three months and feeling down, she grabbed me and said: "Look Nicky, you've tried so hard – I'm not going to let you give up now".
Neymar, 22, broke a vertebra in his spine during his side's 2-1 quarter-final victoverover Colombia on Friday.
The Brazil striker broke a vertebra in his spine during his side's 2-1 quarter-final win on Friday following a challenge from defender Zuniga, 28.
