[Overpaid Slacker]

gchappel pretty much said it all... as long as there's no neurological deficit, the broken bones ought to be able to heal appropriately. Whether that requires surgery on some/all of the vertebrae or not is very fact (and surgeon-opinion) dependent.

I fractured C6 in May '03, in a manner that has a 95% chance of quadriplegia. I got lucky, tho. The surgeon actually advised against a fusion or any invasive process and very strongly suggested a halo, which I wore for 3 months, followed by a month in a hard collar.
I was out of hospital in 2 1/2 days after the accident, looking like a channel marker buoy.

She'll probably be told no caffeine or nicotine while recovering, so if she's a two-pack-a-day espresso junkie, at least she'll have quality meds to help her through the first few days of withdrawal.

If she winds up in a halo, lemme know -- I'll tell you whatever pointers I can about surviving/adjusting to life in a cervical cast.

JP