Grandma’s 35-foot lagoon dive spurs ‘horrendous’ back injury

A UK grandmother’s dreams of a perfect vacation were shattered when she broke her spine jumping into a lagoon in Jamaica.

“I have never felt anything like it,” Maggie Ricketts, 63, told SWNS of the “horrendous” disaster, which occurred in May 2020 during a two-week trip to the Caribbean with her family.

Everything went swimmingly until day three.

Ricketts had taken her fam — her husband, Peter Wood, 67, daughter Charlotte Edwards, 35, and three grandchildren — to a 35-foot seaside outcrop for some cliff jumping.

The Manchester native’s family members dove without incident, while Ricketts decided to take a leap of faith.

“I am frightened of heights, but I thought, ‘I am going to do this,’” the unlucky gran recalled. “I climbed up onto these rocks and stood on the platform.”

Ricketts’ curvet immediately went south when she jumped with her legs in front of her, instead of straight up and down — the proper cliff-diving form.

As a result, Ricketts said she hit the water in an awkward sitting position, which proved excruciating.

“I couldn’t get my breath — I thought I was going to drown,” described the imperiled vacationer, who had to be carried back to shore.

She was taken back to the hotel in complete agony.

“I was in so much pain I couldn’t walk,” Ricketts recounted. “It felt like I had hit a brick wall.”

Despite knowing that something was definitely awry, Ricketts said she couldn’t seek medical help because she wasn’t insured for sports injuries.

“I kept wondering what I did, but I couldn’t do anything until I got home,” lamented the Brit, who was forced to spend the rest of the two-week jaunt in pain.

“I was absolutely gutted. The holiday was ruined,” rued Ricketts. “There were so many things that I missed out on, but I couldn’t join in and be part of the family.”

Though unable to participate in activities, she encouraged her fam to have fun without her.

The vacay reportedly cost a cool $2,500 per person — and things didn’t improve much after she returned home.

“I had an X-ray when I got home, and they told me I had fractured my spine,” she explained. “They couldn’t believe I had been walking around for two weeks.”

Ricketts said she was fitted with a back brace, which she had to wear for months.

Now, more than two years after the accident, the senior claims she is still on painkillers as she continues to suffer debilitating back problems.

In retrospect, Ricketts believes it was ludicrous to jump without using the correct technique.

“I feel so stupid that I put my legs up, I don’t know why I did it,” she declared. “This is going to affect me for the rest of my life.”