Freak hammock accident leaves Minnesota mother paralyzed

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (KTRK) -- A Minnesota woman was left paralyzed when a falling tree snapped her neck as she lounged in a hammock with her boyfriend.

Alyssa Pfannenstein, 25, told WCCO-TV she didn't realize the 15-foot birch tree was rotting from the inside.

"All of the sudden this big boom hit me in the back of the head," she said.

The Labor Day accident left Pfannenstein paralyzed, and she has been in the hospital for nearly two weeks.

Pfannenstein has regained her sense of touch, and her family is praying she will make a full recovery.

"We just want to appreciate every miracle," her boyfriend, Justin Janssen, said. "Accidents happen and we will get through this like anything else."

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