Grandmother, 91, survives two days after falling at home 'by eating her pot plant'
A 91-year-old grandmother survived two days trapped on the floor of her home after a fall by eating her pot plant.
Rosemary Frank resorted to eating soil from her Madagascan Dragon Tree after she was left stranded on her bedroom floor for 48 hours in the village of Kempsey, Worcestershire.
She was eventually discovered by volunteer driver Derek Cowdry, who decided to check in on her after she missed her regular trip to the hair salon.
Cowdry said he found Frank semi-conscious on the floor with soil around her mouth and dialled 999 before paramedics rushed her to Worcestershire Royal Hospital.
Doctors said she was only six more hours from death and had suffered severe dehydration and had fractured her wrist in three places.
She is now recovering at home with the help of carers and her 60-year-old son Richard after spending 10 days in hospital.
Retired physiotherapist Rosemary said she remembered waking up face down in a pile of dirt with soil around her mouth.
Mother-of-two Rosemary said: “The last thing I remember was speaking with my daughter Caroline in Canada on Sunday night.
"The next thing I know it was Tuesday and I was in hospital.
"But I do recall coming to face down in a pile of soil with it all around my mouth and face. I must have been a right sight for sore eyes.
Read more: Great-gran, 99, becomes UK's oldest person to recover from coronavirus
"They found soil in my stomach so I must have eaten some in desperation to try and stay alive. The plant was a gift from my son, so I'm obviously very grateful for it.”
Her son Richard Frank said he believes his mum had instinctively eaten the soil from the nearby plant in order to sustain herself.
Richard, who lives in Knighton, Powys, Wales, added: "It was a very frightening time and we are just grateful Derek found her.
"I had only been up the weekend before as I was moving house and I didn't have room for some plants, so I brought my mum the dragon tree.
"It was recently repotted otherwise it would have been dry as anything, we think she might have eaten it just to try and get any nutrients and moisture into her as she was so dehydrated.
"But as she can't remember anything we don't know exactly what her intentions were but we think it might have just been on instinct.
"When you're six hours away from death, I imagine you'll resort to anything. It's incredible really but Derek is really the life-saver here – not my plant."
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