A former seaside landlady who broke both legs in multiple places when she fainted has thanked the NHS for getting her walking.
Nora McNicholas, from Great Yarmouth, has shared pictures of her scars and details of her surgery after she collapsed on May 28 and went on to spend eight weeks in hospital.
The 75-year-old was preparing for a day watching show jumping at Houghton Hall when she lost consciousness.
After initially receiving care from the St John Ambulance and being violently sick, she was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn and later transferred to Gorleston's James Paget University Hospital at her request.
X-rays taken at both hospitals revealed the shocking extent of her injuries.
"The doctors said at the time it was really unusual to see both femurs (thigh bones) each broken in two places like that," she said.
"I just felt a bit ill, my daughter was with me and she had just put our two coffees on the floor and that was it."
Mrs McNicholas, who lives near the seafront with husband Joseph, 80, now has an eight inch medal plate in one leg, and a six inch one in the other - as well as metal knees.
In all she received almost 60 staples.
She said she couldn't be more grateful to NHS staff at a time when most headlines were about long ambulance waits and things going wrong.
Although staff on the wards were obviously under pressure they were always kind and patient, and in good spirits.
"Everybody was so good," she said.
"To me it was like a five star hotel and the food was brilliant too. They were short-staffed but still took the time to deal with me and never rushed me and we always take it for granted."
Mrs McNicholas, who ran the Haydee Hotel in Princes Road for almost 20 years with her husband, added: "It was extra special because I was in for so long. I had such special care everywhere I went.
"People do not believe me when I tell them what happened. They think it must have been something else, not just falling to the floor."
She also praised the recovery unit Carlton Court in Carlton Colville which "got her walking" and said that in sharing her story anyone facing a hospital stay could do so with confidence.
"They always went above and beyond," she said. "There were bells ringing everywhere but they still had time for me."
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