I was trimming bushes on a ladder just yesterday and had a vision of falling because the ladder wasn't as securely anchored as it should have been. Fortunately, it did not fall.
On Saturday, the daughter of a friend of mine fell out of a tree directly onto the top of her head from about 10-12 feet. She ended up with a fractured sternum and 8 (count 'em, EIGHT!) fractured vertebrae, two in her cervical spine and 6 in her thoracic spine. Amazingly, she had no spinal cord damage and no brain damage.
Sorry to hear about you fall and your injury. I hope you have a speedy recovery.