DENVER, Colo. — Miracles do happen. That’s what doctors said about 30-year-old Shannon Malloy.

A car crash in Nebraska on Jan. 25 threw Malloy up against the vehicle’s dashboard. In the process, her skull became separated from her spine. The clinical term for her condition is called internal decapitation.

“I remember the impact and then I had no control over my head,” said Malloy. “I wasn’t focused so much on the pain. I just kept thinking, ‘I have to stay alive.’”

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Five screws were drilled into Malloy’s neck. Four more were drilled into her head to keep it stabilized. Then a thing called a halo — rods and a circular metal bar — was attached for added support. It’s not exactly a pain-free procedure.

“My skull slipped off my neck about five times. Every time they tried to screw this to my head, I would slip,” said Malloy.

Rebuilding Malloy’s neck strength was a priority, but there were also other complications.

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