Model and television personality Abbey Clancy has shared a shocking account of a holiday injury that saw her rushed to a hospital in Dubai and placed on a drip, all from what many might dismiss as a minor mishap.
A Hug That Led to Holiday Horror
The 40-year-old, who rose to fame on Britain's Next Top Model, was enjoying a New Year's getaway in Dubai with her husband, former England footballer Peter Crouch, and their four children. The trip took a dramatic turn late one evening after a lovely family meal.
As friends were preparing to leave at around 11pm, Abbey went to give a hug goodbye. In a freak accident, her acrylic nail bent completely backwards and tore off. "It was pouring with blood," Clancy recounted. The initial bleeding stopped, but was quickly replaced by excruciating nerve pain that radiated down her entire arm, into her shoulder, and up her neck.
A Long Night of Agony and Embarrassment
What followed was an eight-hour ordeal of severe pain. Abbey described trying to manage the throbbing by holding her hand under hot and cold water, and changing the position of her arm, but to no avail. Hotel staff were unable to provide even basic painkillers like paracetamol or ibuprofen, forcing the family to call for a doctor.
A doctor finally arrived at the hotel room at 3am, but the solution was more intense than anticipated. "The doctor came and said, 'I'm going to put you on a drip,'" Abbey explained. The process took another two hours, leaving her exhausted and in tears until 7am. She admitted feeling deeply "embarrassed" by the situation, knowing the cause was a broken nail.
Hospital Visit and Husband's Cancelled Plans
At 8am, her friend Lucinda drove her to a local hospital. There, Abbey met a doctor who helped alleviate her fear of medical settings. The medical team injected her hand with a nerve blocker to numb the area, a moment she described as a huge relief. "They removed my nail," she stated, explaining that conventional painkillers were ineffective against the nerve pain.
The incident also had a knock-on effect for Peter Crouch. Having been up all night, he had to cancel a planned golf day with friends. "I went, 'Lads, I'm not going to be able to play... Abs is in the hospital,'" Peter said. When pressed for details, his explanation that his wife had "broken a nail" was met with disbelief, with his friends asking if he was joking.
Reflecting on the bizarre and painful experience, Abbey acknowledged how "ridiculous" and "pathetic" it sounded, but emphasised the very real and debilitating pain she endured throughout the night in Dubai.
