“The doctors didn’t know if my body would recover from the accident due to all the damage my brain took"

“When I was about 20 years old, something traumatic happened to me. I was out with my friends in the evening. Suddenly, I went towards a pedestrian crossing. By the time I crossed the road, a car came from the side and crashed into me. My whole body was thrown away. The car stopped and a man came out. He was shocked and felt guilt. None of my friends were hit by the car, so together with the man, they called an ambulance. After that, I fainted.”

“A month later I woke up in a hospital. I had been unconscious the whole time since the car accident and had now received intensive care. I had a concussion and broke one of my lower legs in seven different places.  I hit my head so hard that my brain was swollen and my leg were almost crushed. I was so close having to amputate it, but I was lucky. 

As a result of my swollen brain, I had difficulty remembering people that stood near me, even my parents. I also had many memory gaps from my childhood, which I still have today. 

The doctors didn’t know if my body would recover from the accident due to all the damage my brain took. I was on sick leave for two years and got much support for my learning and talking, as I barely remembered grammar in the swedish language. My leg was so broken that I had to walk on crutches for a long long while. For many years after the accident I had to wear special socks when I was going skiing, because my leg was unstable.”

“Today, I have difficulty with learning, reading comprehensions and remembering names because of the accident. I rarely cross the road when it’s red lights because I have such a big respect for vehicles. But I don’t have any injuries today, except for learning.”

“It was the worst moment of my life. I was so close to die but I managed to survive, and that makes me so thankful and lucky that I’m still alive today. One thing that made me fight a little bit more for my life must have been my friends and family. They came so often to the hospital and made me want to continue living. I have learned from the accident that you should take your life for granted, cause we don’t know if we will be alive tomorrow.”

Alice 9A