Great news! Even though I missed the bit what happened. Sounds serious either way.
My cat broke his leg after falling from the balcony... on the second floor. The vet literally laughed because he never heard of a cat breaking a bone from such a low height. In my cats defence, he's a bit chubby. (for context, my other cat would jump down there without a second thought, I could probably hop down there myself without issue XD) I'm sure yours was far more serious, but I think the new hairstyle is quite chic. No need to be embarassed!
I was told that Simba fell off the carport roof while fighting with his mother. It wasn't high but he fell and went splat rather finding his feet so in a very short fall, a cat may not have time to reorientate themselves to land on their feet and then fractures are very likely.
The haircut is very Moe from the 3 Stooges to my eye
This is my understanding too, yeah! He didn't jump down there, he slipped. All the difference, I guess!
Well we moved to a balcony-less apartment now so, worries over in our case. Maybe consider wrapping Simba in bubble wrap in the future XD
The vet said that a bone heals back stronger and it's my belief that cats are mentally healthier when they can do cat things so I think I'll just try and insulate my bank balance a bit XD