“The police wrote me off as a fatality”
Emily was walking when a stolen car mounted the pavement and hit her. She was thrown ten feet in the air, landing in the road. The police said they didn’t expect her to survive.
I don’t remember anything, the police wrote me off as a fatality.
A nurse witnessed the collision and realised Emily was still alive. The air ambulance was called, and she spent the next three weeks in an induced coma.
Emily’s injuries were so severe that she required cranioplasty; the doctors had had to remove a section of her skull and she needed a titanium plate to replace the shattered bone. “They discharged me to go and have my cranioplasty. Then that was delayed by a month, so I had a month at home with the right side of my skull not there.”
Eventually Emily had the surgery, emerging with an intact skull and a large c-shaped scar that marked the seriousness of what she had survived.
“When went to rehab, I couldn’t walk. I had hemiparesis, so my left side was affected – my hand was across my body, and I could not for love or money open up my fist.”
Emily’s time in rehab got her walking, eating and talking, but recovery was far from over: “I went home after the first rehab and I was feeling like I should be better.”
Her therapy continued, including work to straighten her arm and build confidence near roads. Walking with a dog became an important part of reconnecting with everyday life.
“That helped a lot because I had to focus on the dog not the cars, so surprisingly enough, I wasn’t actually that scared of cars.”
When Emily’s NHS rehabilitation ended, she wasn’t sure how to continue progressing. That’s when she was put in touch with MIB.
“They set up a fund for me to be able to live independently. I’d live in a rental house for a couple of weeks at a time to see how I would cope cooking, organising things and getting to events, working as well. That really helped and built up my confidence enough so I could dog-sit. It was good responsibility and I didn’t really know it at the time, but it came in quite handy for living independently with my dog and played quite a big role in my recovery.”
With MIB’s support, Emily was able to regain independence and confidence in her future.
“I definitely would still be very reliant on other people and need probably a carer. Now I can drive – they also helped fund that too. Without them I probably wouldn’t be here today.”
Every year, MIB supports people injured by uninsured and hit‑and‑run drivers, helping them access the care, rehabilitation and compensation they need to rebuild their lives. Emily’s is just one of many stories of people who MIB have helped back on their feet.
