Girl 13 makes amazing recovery after being broken in half from horse fall

A teenage girl who was “broken in half” after falling from her horse and told that she might never walk again has made an “amazing” recovery by walking out of hospital unaided.

Aliza Rae AliKhan was rushed into emergency spinal surgery after her horse was spooked and fell on top of her in the accident in August last year.

At the time, medics at Southampton Children’s Hospital (SCH) warned the parents of the 13-year-old “to prepare for the worst” because of the severity of her injuries.

But seven months later, Aliza Rae is back at school and also riding again.

Evan Davies, consultant spinal surgeon at SCH, explained the emergency operation involved stabilising her spine with metal rods and removing fractured bone to reduce the pressure on the spinal canal.

He said: “When Aliza arrived in the hospital, she was, for use of a better word, broken in half – her top half wasn’t connected to the bottom half.

“I was concerned that the damage had already been done, and my first thought was that this girl might never walk again.”

Aliza’s mother Thirza AliKhan, from Dorset, said: “It was a long day, a day I will never forget. We didn’t know what was going to happen and I suppose it didn’t really hit us until the next morning.

“We just needed to stay positive for the sake of Aliza Rae. She was conscious and she was talking, so we just focused on that and went from there.

“We didn’t know what the future would hold, but we knew we were in the best hands and Aliza Rae just kept focusing on what she could do, not what she couldn’t.”

A further operation was carried out to remove small pieces of bone which were spotted in a follow-up X-ray.

Mr Davies explained: “This was a more complex procedure, as we had to access the spine through her chest and abdomen to remove the damaged vertebrae and insert screws into her bone.

“The vertebrae were then replaced with an expanding cage, to hold the spine in place while it healed.

“The surgery was a success, but we had no idea if this would mean Aliza Rae would ever walk again.”

Aliza Rae was transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) where her bespoke rehabilitation regime began within 48 hours of her surgery, led by the Southampton Children’s Integrated Rehabilitation Team (SCIRT).

She left the hospital just after her 13th birthday and returned to Hanford Prep school where she is preparing for upcoming exams and planning a fundraising event for the hospital.

She said: “I want to give something back to everyone that looked after me. I remember being told I might never walk again, but I had this amazing team, my dream team, and they never gave up on me.

“They became like friends, not just doctors and physios. They helped me believe in myself.”

Her mother added: “The team were amazing from day one. Positive, supportive and really connected with Aliza Rae – they had the right balance of pushing her and knowing when it was too much.

“We’ll forever be grateful for everything that everyone at SCH has done for Aliza Rae.”

Published: 28/03/2025 by Radio NewsHub