A British musician’s ordinary evening took a catastrophic turn when a playful interaction with his hairless cat resulted in injuries typically seen in severe car accidents, leaving him immobilized for 14 harrowing hours at the bottom of his stairs.
Chris Rowley, 59, from Leicestershire, endured a horrific array of injuries including a fractured skull, broken neck, two spinal fractures, and nine broken ribs – each with multiple fractures – after tripping over his Egyptian sphinx kitten, Eric Morecambe, on October 23.
“I can’t remember much, just falling fast — it was quick and it was over within seconds, then I was at the bottom,” Rowley recounted to the Mirror.
The incident occurred when his wrinkled feline companion unexpectedly pounced on his leg as he descended the stairs, causing him to lose his footing and tumble down 14 steps.
The severity of the situation was compounded by circumstances that left Rowley completely alone during his ordeal.
His wife Jackie, a children’s care worker, was working a night shift, and his phone battery was dead. Unable to move and lying in a pool of his own blood, Rowley spent the next 14 hours in excruciating pain.
“My phone was dead — I couldn’t get up, I physically couldn’t get up,” Rowley explained. “It’s the hardest sensation — it’s almost like claustrophobia, you can’t get out, you can’t physically get anywhere or do anything.”
Adding to his misery, his unaware kitten repeatedly stamped on his chest throughout the night, unknowingly aggravating his already severe injuries. The cat, ironically, emerged from the incident completely unscathed.
The nightmare finally ended when Jackie returned home around 10 a.m. the next morning, later than her usual 8:30 a.m. arrival.
“I opened the door and heard him screaming and saw the blood,” she recalled. “He was saying, ‘Oh you’re home, help, help.’ By this time, he’d dragged himself onto the landing.”
Emergency services responded swiftly to Jackie’s call, but the extent of Rowley’s injuries necessitated heavy sedation before they could move him. The situation was so distressing that Jackie had to leave the room, unable to bear her husband’s screams of pain.
Rowley spent two weeks in the trauma unit, but his recovery journey is far from over. “They say it will be six to 12 months until I’m back on my feet,” he said.
Currently dependent on oxygen to breathe, he faces ongoing medical procedures, including the possible insertion of a drain to remove residual blood.
The accident has also significantly impacted Rowley’s professional life. As a touring musician, his inability to perform has resulted in substantial income loss, prompting a friend to establish a GoFundMe page to help the couple weather their financial challenges.
Despite the life-altering consequences of the fall, Rowley maintains a remarkably understanding attitude toward his feline companion.
“The cat’s adorable, and he’s only young,” he said. “I don’t take any umbrage to that, it’s just one of them things — it could have happened anyway.”
Rowley’s case has garnered attention not only for its unusual circumstances but also for his gracious attitude toward his unwitting furry assailant.
Editor’s Note: This article is based on reporting by the Mirror newspaper. Details about the incident and injuries have been verified through direct quotes from the individuals involved.