A NEWBURY nurse has described how a horrific car accident in Malawi nearly left her paralysed.
Teresa Connolly sustained fractures to her spine after the car she was travelling in overturned and landed on its roof in torrential rain in the south east African country on November 5.
She had been travelling to a nursing conference she had organised and was sat in the front seat of the car, along with four Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) colleagues from the Mzuzu Central Hospital in Malawi, where she has worked as an intensive care nursing expert.
It was initially feared that the former St Joseph’s Primary School and St Bartholomew’s School pupil had suffered a trapped nerve in her spine and she was airlifted to a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.
However, it was discovered that her injuries were so serious that she ended up undergoing a seven-hour operation on her spine.
She was then kept in hospital for several weeks, harbouring hopes of returning home for Christmas for the first time since selling all her belongings and heading out to Malawi last year.
Last Monday she returned to her parents home in Bartlemy Road, Newbury, wearing a neck brace and with four screws inserted in to her spine. She said: “I fell asleep in the vehicle and I woke up to hear and see the driver struggling to control the car. It was almost like the wheels and the steering column were not communicating properly.”
She added that after getting out of the car, she complained of back pain and was told by another VSO volunteer, Kate Devis, to lie down flat as she had a suspected spinal injury.
Miss Connolly added that if she had not done this, she could have caused permanent damage to her cervical spine.
She said: “Kate saved my life and our relationship has changed forever.”
Miss Connolly added that she was pleased to be home and praised the medical staff in both Nairobi and the UK, after she was seen by doctors within 12 hours of her return.
However, Miss Connolly has been told by specialists that she requires a further operation on her spine and as the Newbury Weekly News went to press, she was in Southampton General Hosp-ital awaiting a possible operation.
However, she said she still intends to return to Malawi, but will now need to obtain medical insurance to do so.
She said: “My life is in Malawi and that is where I want to go back to. I will need to work hard – I know they want me back, but it is all about getting the insurance.”