Australian Sam Bloom is world para surfing world champion after breaking her ... trends now
A mum-of-three who broke her back after falling six metres off a balcony while on a family holiday in Thailand has since become a two-time World and Australian Para Surfing Champion.
Sam Bloom was 41 years old when she fell through a rotten balcony railing while on a family vacation in Thailand in 2013.
Ms Bloom plunged six metres onto the concrete below as her husband Cameron and children Rueben, 16, Noah, 14, Oli, 12, watched on in horror.
Her husband rushed to help but found her lying unconscious with her head split open. She'd also bitten through her tongue and a massive lump on her back could be seen.
Sam Bloom (pictured) was 41 years old when she fell through a rotten balcony while on a family vacation in Thailand in 2013
The mother-of-three (pictured) fractured her skull in several places, bruised her brain, bit through her tongue, ruptured both lungs and shattered two vertebrae in her spine, which left her paralysed from the chest down
Ms Bloom suffered extensive injuries included a fractured skull, bruising and bleeding of her brain, rupturing both lungs and lacerating her tongue.
Her spine was also shattered at the T6 and T7 vertebrae causing a fist-shaped knot of bone to protrude from her back.
After waiting four hours for an ambulance, Ms Bloom was taken to a local hospital where doctors started stitching up her head wound.
Doctors soon realised the severity of her injuries and rushed her three hours to a private hospital, where she spent three days until her condition stabilised.
After six months of surgery and rehabilitation, Ms Bloom was left paralysed from the chest down never to walk again.
'Before my accident, I was super active. I've grown up by the beaches, so I've always surfed and felt really comfortable in the ocean,' Ms Bloom told Nine Honey.
'After my accident in 2013 when I broke my back… I don't have any control. All I have is my arms so I feel quite uncomfortable in the ocean now because I don't have control.'
Ms Bloom spent a week in a Bangkok hospital before returning home to Australia, where she began a seven-month long hospital rehabilitation.
In a Facebook post marking the 10-year anniversary of the accident, Ms Bloom wrote at times she believes the best version of herself died on the concrete.
However, she never imagined a decade later she would be a two-time world and Australian para-surfing champion competing at a national and international level.
