She was wearing thongs when she lost her footing on slippery rocks and fell five metres from a cliff at Blue Fish Point, near Manly in Sydney.
However, as she was falling, she pushed her body forward so she could land on her feet which in turn protected her neck and back from the fall.
“Once she realised she was falling – apart from thinking she was going to die – she said something came over her and she thought I have to land the best I can to try and prevent damage to my neck and back,” her mother told Manly Daily.
“So she forced herself to lean forward and land on her feet and hands and that decision saved her life.”
Louise was taken from the rocks and rushed to Royal North Shore hospital where she underwent a five-hour surgery.
Her feet and ankles are now being held together by a number of metal plates and pins, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Louise will now spend the next six weeks in a wheelchair and will undergo intensive physiotherapy.
