On Good Friday Beth was knocked off her bike by a car as she was crossing a road on a pelican crossing on the way to a youth group breakfast. The pictures the paramedics showed us show that she hit the windscreen on the passenger side so she was nearly across the road when she was hit. The bike frame has been broken in two places so it is miraculous that her legs aren't broken. Police were on the scene in minutes as they were passing at the time which is amazing.
She was immobilised and taken to our local hospital about 10 minutes from the accident site. I didn't find out about the accident until I returned from my own cycle ride that morning - finding a note on my doormat that asked me to call 101 and quote a reference. They asked me if I had a daughter, and seeing as I have three and only knew where one was (upstairs in bed) I had no idea who to ask about!
Beth sustained a serious head wound that required surgery to clean and suture. She also broke two vertebrae. One between her shoulder blades and one in her neck. The one in her neck was initially unstable, but specialists at Southmead Hospital in Bristol decided that surgery wasn't necessary to stabilise it. She was put into a supportive collar which had to stay on permanently, 24/7, for 6 weeks.
She also had other bumps, bruises and grazes, but incredibly few considering what happened. And none on her face which is a blessing. The doctor in A&E said that if she hadn't been wearing her helmet she might not be with us - a really scary thought!
After 6 weeks in the supportive collar she was given a 'soft' collar instead which also had to be kept on permanently for 6 weeks.
As I write this, it has now been 12 weeks since the accident and Beth has made remarkable progress. She has been able to return to school full-time after the recent half term. There is still a long road of recovery ahead, but we are so so very grateful for her wonderful progress so far. We go for another check up next Tuesday and hopefully Beth will be allowed to take the collar off and will be referred for physio for her back which is still very painful.
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