A bride-to-be who partied too hard at her hen party will now have to walk down the aisle with her leg in a cast after seriously injuring herself while celebrating with friends.
Kurstan Buck traveled to Orange Beach in Alabama, UK, to enjoy a week with her nine bridesmaids and family members earlier this month.
But as the wedding party set off on a pontoon to begin the festivities, disaster struck Kurstan.
As the party got underway on the boat, the 22-year-old decided to help film some content for her friend’s social media and did a backflip off the back of the boat as her friends cheered her on.
Unfortunately, the water was shallower than he had anticipated and he fell hard and broke his left leg.
Kurstan Buck of Nashville broke his leg after doing a backflip off a boat and hitting his leg on a shallow bank.
The bride-to-be was too shocked to feel pain at first, but soon realized that her lower leg was badly damaged.
Horrifying footage shows Kurstan doing a backflip into the water and slamming his feet into a shallow sandbank or sunken bank below.
The ‘dazed’ social media marketer said she was initially too in shock to feel pain.
But after being rescued and lifted onto the boat, she realized she had suffered severe damage to her lower limb.
The shocking snaps show Kurstan’s ankle swollen and a dimple in his leg where part of his shin had caved in.
After being rushed to the emergency room, doctors confirmed via X-rays that Kurstan had shattered her left tibia and ankle in three places.
But because her left appendix was too swollen to perform surgery right away, a cast was put on her leg and the bride-to-be continued her bachelorette celebrations in a wheelchair.
Kurstan, from Nashville, Tennessee, said: ‘They (the boat staff) took us out into the bay to a sandbar and we swam for a long time in chest-deep water.
‘We then had a couple of drinks at a bar that was within swimming distance of the boat and then they took us back to another sandbank, which they said was quite shallow.
After being rushed to the emergency room, doctors confirmed via X-rays that Kurstan had shattered her left tibia and broken her ankle in three places.
During the trip, the social media marketer was brave and still joined in the festivities.
Kurstan Buck had travelled to Orange Beach in Alabama, USA, to enjoy a week’s break with her nine bridesmaids and family.
Kurstan, pictured with her bridesmaids, said she initially couldn’t feel the pain in her leg because of the shock.
‘That’s when we decided to create social media content for one of my friends who is a musician.
‘As the water was shallow, they took the boat out to deeper water so we could do some flips from the boat.
‘The lady (boat staff) even stood in the water to show us how deep it was, but the current must have pushed the boat into shallow water without us knowing.
‘We went up to the back of the boat to do the backflip and as soon as we landed I stood up and was stunned. I was in shock.
‘I just landed on the sand, but I’ve heard it can be really unforgiving because of how compact it was. The sandbank felt like cement and the impact shattered my leg.
‘About 10 minutes later I started feeling pain and I was crying because it hurt so much.
‘It (my left leg) was super swollen and you could see an indentation in my leg, almost like I had a little hole in my shin.
‘(After I got my leg in a cast), we rested the whole next day, but then we rented a beach wheelchair and got a long beach chair so I could rest my foot.
Four days after returning home from her bachelorette trip on Sunday, July 14, Kurstan underwent a five-hour operation.
During the operation, the 22-year-old had to have 16 screws and two plates placed in her leg.
Despite his broken leg, Kurstan managed to reach the beach with his friends during their trip.
The social media marketer is pictured on a night out during her bachelorette party with a cast protecting her leg.
Kurstan’s friends rallied around the bride-to-be to ensure she had an amazing pre-wedding trip.
‘The girls took me to the beach for the next two days. We kept playing all the games and went out to dinner and tried to make the best of the worst.
“My friends and my mother were instrumental in making the most of it, having fun and not thinking about it. I was in a wheelchair the whole time.”
Four days after returning home from her bachelorette trip, Kurstan underwent a five-hour operation where she had 16 screws and two plates placed in her leg.
A pain pump catheter was then placed in the limb and he had to use crutches for the next five weeks to keep pressure off his injury.
Kurstan is set to marry Grant Hyams, 26, on October 12 this year and was initially afraid she might not be able to walk down the aisle on their wedding day.
But after attending a follow-up appointment with her surgeon, he told her she should be able to walk on the big day, although she will be wearing a boot and a cast.
Kurstan said: ‘I was very worried about my wedding day after my accident.
“I cried when my surgeon said he thought I would be able to walk down the aisle. That was the most important thing to me as I wanted to be able to walk down the aisle.
Kurstan continued to party in his cast, taking it easy in a wheelchair to ensure he didn’t do any more damage to his foot.
The bride-to-be has issued a warning to other tourists: “People should check the water before jumping in. I am very lucky that I didn’t jump into the water and hit my head and neck.”
‘With this type of surgery, I’m not allowed to put weight on my ankle for at least another five weeks, which is early September, which is actually pretty close to my big day.
‘My surgeon said I’ll still have to wear a boot, so I’ll be in a cast on my wedding day.
‘He said he was sure I could at least take off my boot to walk down the aisle once the ceremony was over.
“I hope I can walk down the aisle. I’m a very resilient person, so I hope I can do it if I put my mind to it.”
‘We’re going to give my boot a little something special and put something white and some bows on it. We’re going to give it a little bit of flair and try to make it fit in.
‘I’m a little worried about the injury I’ll get on my wedding day. I want to be able to go through the whole day without feeling pain, but this is a big possibility.
“I hope I don’t have any problems walking, standing and dancing because I want to enjoy it. There’s a lot of apprehension around this.
‘My surgeon said he would re-evaluate me a week before my wedding to let me know what I can and can’t do.’
Since his accident, Kurstan now urges others to be careful when jumping into shallow water and admits his injuries could have been fatal had he landed on his head or neck.
Kurstan said: ‘I would simply say that this happens more often than people think.
“People should check the water before they jump in. I was very lucky that I didn’t fall into the water and that I didn’t hit my head or neck.”
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