Health
Woman with 5% chance of survival after ski accident makes 'miracle' recovery
A young woman who was given just a 5% chance of survival after suffering a horrific skiing accident is calling her recovery a “miracle.”
Olivia Corbiere, 23, suffered a brain bleed, lung damage, a broken pelvis and three fractured vertebrae when she fell 15 feet down a ravine in Bansko, Bulgaria, during a ski outing in March 2024, news agency SWNS reported.
Initially, doctors told Corbiere’s parents, Linzi Corbiere and Sebastien Corbiere, that their daughter had a limited chance of pulling through — and might never talk again if she did.
MAN STUNNED WHEN RESTAURANT STRANGER PAYS FAMILY’S $85 BILL
“We were told she had a 5% chance of living and may not speak,” the mother said, according to SWNS.
Corbiere, a kitchen designer from England, had gone on the five-day spring ski trip with a group of close friends and her 19-year-old-sister, Phoebe.
Left to right, a group of friends — including Olivia Corbiere, center — just moments before Corbiere suffered a life-threatening accident. (SWNS)
On March 17, the group got up early for a day of skiing in the mountains. But shortly before lunch, things took a terrible turn.
“We were having a conversation about where we were going to eat,” said Corbiere. “That was one of the last things I remember before my accident.”
As she was heading along a ski path, her right ski crossed over her left and she began to lose control. The warm weather had melted the snow in such a way that Corbiere couldn’t turn her skis as she normally would, SWNS reported.
Corbiere slipped and then tumbled over the edge and down into a ravine.
“The actions of my sister and my friends that day are the reason why I’m here.”
Three of her fellow skiers jumped into the ravine to rescue her while the others called emergency services.
“The actions of my sister and my friends that day are the reason I’m here,” she said via SWNS. “They didn’t even think for a second not to jump in, and they could have hurt themselves. They are incredible. They’re fabulous. They’re amazing.”
PREGNANT WOMAN AND BABY SAVED AFTER DOCTORS FIND GRAPEFRUIT-SIZED TUMOR: ‘EXTREMELY RARE’
Corbiere was rushed to the hospital, where medics said they had “never seen” a head injury like hers.
The accident also left her with three fractured vertebrae, a broken pelvis, a broken eye socket and a broken nose, as reported by SWNS.
Given a life-threatening brain bleed, she endured four hours of emergency surgery, during which specialists removed part of her skull.
Olivia Corbiere suffered serious injuries during a skiing accident in 2024. She had to undergo four hours of emergency surgery, during which specialists removed part of her skull. She is still working on a full recovery. (SWNS)
Once she was back in the U.K. for continued medical treatment, doctors warned her parents to prepare for a long recovery lasting several months or perhaps years.
But Corbiere, who has no recollection of the five-week period following her accident, began to improve more quickly than expected.
“When I moved from the intensive care ward onto the neuro ward, it was about three or four days after that, my memory started to come back,” she said.
WOMAN SUFFERS PAIN FOR 20 YEARS UNTIL HER MYSTERY AILMENT IS FINALLY DIAGNOSED
Corbiere still has some hearing loss and nerve damage on the right side of her face — affecting her eyelid movement — along with a wound at the back of her head.
However, Corbiere’s mother said her daughter’s progress since the accident feels like a miracle.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“We were told she had a 5% chance of living and may not speak, but she’s done all that, she’s proved them wrong. She’s getting stronger every day.”
The mom added, “Now, she can laugh and joke about herself and things like that – that’s really, really good. We’re absolutely over the moon.”
Corbiere has now returned home — and she’s even been able to enjoy meals out with her family.
A grateful group out for a meal. From left, dad Seb Corbiere, translator Vicky, mom Linzi Corbiere, Olivia Corbiere, her boyfriend Tom, and her sister Phoebe Corbiere. (SWNS)
Her story has been widely shared, including on a fundraising page — and she said she’s stunned by how many people from all over the world have offered their sympathies after hearing about her accident, per SWNS.
“There are just so many good people in the world,” she said. “I can’t be any more grateful.”
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
One supporter wrote to the family, “Thinking of you all. I can’t imagine how tough this must be for you.”
Despite the traumatic injuries, Corbiere said she hopes to hit the slopes again soon.
“I’ve skied for years. I absolutely love it, and I shouldn’t let something that was a complete accident put me off something I enjoy doing,” she said.
“When I’m fully better and well, I’d love to try it again.”
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A new injectable therapy is showing positive results in reducing melanoma throughout a five-year period.
The personalized mRNA cancer therapy, called intismeran autogene, combined with the cancer immunotherapy drug KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), is a collaboration between Merck and Moderna.
The results from the phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 27.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
After about a five-year follow-up, the combo drug was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone.
The researchers analyzed data from 157 patients with high-risk stage 3 and 4 melanoma whose cancer had been removed via surgery. The participants were split into two groups — one received the combo therapy and the other only received pembrolizumab, according to a press release.
The therapy was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone after a five-year follow-up. (iStock)
The findings revealed that the combination group saw benefits that were “sustained and durable over time.”
Intismeran autogene is designed using mutations identified in a patient’s own tumor, with the intention of teaching the immune system what the cancer looks like so that it can recognize and attack it.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
According to the researchers, intismeran is “well-tolerated” with a “manageable” safety profile.
The most commonly cited side effects of the personalized mRNA vaccine plus KEYTRUDA were fatigue, injection-site pain, chills, fever and headache. The researchers reported no new long-term safety concerns and no severe vaccine-related adverse events.
The combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study — the final confirmation stage.
Patients with late-stage melanoma have a “significant risk” of cancer recurrence, according to an expert. (iStock)
In a Merck press release from January, Kyle Holen, MD, Moderna’s senior vice president and head of development, oncology and therapeutics, noted that this data highlights the “potential of a prolonged benefit … in patients with resected high-risk melanoma.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“We continue to invest in our platform in oncology because of encouraging outcomes like these, which illustrate mRNA’s potential in cancer care,” he said.
Dr. Marjorie Green, senior vice president and head of oncology, global clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories, also commented that for many patients with stage 3 or 4 melanoma, there is a “significant risk of recurrence following surgery.”
Researchers confirmed that the combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study. (iStock)
“As such, demonstrating the longer-term potential of intismeran autogene and KEYTRUDA to reduce the risk of recurrence for certain patients with melanoma is a meaningful milestone,” she said.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
The company cited encouraging five-year follow-up data and pointed to upcoming late-stage INTerpath trial results with Moderna in several hard-to-treat cancers.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE GETTING YOUR FLU SHOT, ACCORDING TO DOCTORS
Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
HOW LONG YOU’RE CONTAGIOUS WITH THE FLU — AND WHEN IT’S SAFE TO GO OUT
The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
RESEARCHERS LOCKED FLU PATIENTS IN A HOTEL WITH HEALTHY ADULTS — NO ONE GOT SICK
The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
FREQUENT HEARTBURN MAY BE A WARNING SIGN OF A MORE DANGEROUS CONDITION, DOCTOR SAYS
The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
BACTERIA IN YOUR MOUTH MAY TRAVEL TO THE GUT AND TRIGGER STOMACH CANCER, RESEARCH FINDS
After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
-
Lifestyle33 minutes agoHow having zero points in tennis — or ‘love’ — came to sound so sweet
-
Technology45 minutes agoAmazon develops a warehouse robot workers can speak to
-
World48 minutes agoAlbino buffalo nicknamed ‘Donald Trump’ becomes sensation at Bangladesh’s national zoo for its blond hair
-
Politics53 minutes agoThe growing list of controversies threatening Democrat Graham Platner’s Maine Senate bid
-
Health1 hour agoNew cancer vaccine delivers stunning result against one of the deadliest skin cancers
-
Sports1 hour agoFan disrupts NBA Finals Game 1 while trying to take selfie with Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama
-
Business1 hour agoHow Google’s 32-million mosquito project could change California’s battle against dengue
-
Entertainment1 hour agoAfter ‘Barbie’ success, Mattel looks to He-Man for another box-office lift
