Keeli’s family was told she may never wake up after a driver crashed into her just months after she passed her test
A woman who was hit by a drink driver and left for dead at the age of 19 says she doesn’t remember waking up from her coma, but the injuries still have an impact on her every single day. Keeli Nelthorpe had just finished her shift at her local hospital and was driving home when a drunk driver changed her life.
Keeli, who had only months before got her driving licence and was driving her first car, was hit head-on by a driver doing over 60mph on a 40mph road. She was just five minutes from home. The other motorist, who was under the influence of alcohol, ran from the crash scene in Doncaster.
“I was left for dead,” says Keeli. “I was luckily helped by a passing pedestrian and airlifted to Sheffield hospital.”
There she was put on a life support machine after suffering a traumatic brain injury, fractured skull, broken femur, broken wrist and broken patella. Keeli’s family were taken to a room in the hospital and told of the possibility of her never waking up.
“I was in a coma for some time before waking up and going into rehabilitation,” she said. “I was lucky to recover from my traumatic brain injury at all. The process of recovering was difficult for me. I was in a coma and on a life support machine for two weeks, before moving onto rehabilitation.
“When I did luckily wake up I just didn’t feel like myself at all. In fact, I felt like a totally different person than the one I was before.”
Now 36 and married with two young boys, Keeli says the crash in March 2008 still impacts her every single day, both mentally and physically. When she eventually woke up, it took her years to come to terms with what had happened.
“I don’t remember waking up from the coma, nor much of the first few years following that,” she says. “My memory and functions had been impacted significantly due to the brain injury. The memory I believed was reality, was that I was on an aeroplane, followed by being laid alone on a beach by the sea in very bright light.
“I’m not sure if at this point I was still in a coma or had I woken up at that point, but to this day I can only describe it as what would have been ‘seeing your life flash before your eyes’.”
Keeli also found it difficult coping with her new physical challenges. “In terms of physical recovery, it was hard for me to have to depend on others: I am a very independent person and so needing my parents to bath me, use a wheelchair, carry me upstairs and get me around was very frustrating and took away my pride and dignity,” she explains.
“Mentally and emotionally, it was also a very long road to recovery. From being able to speak again, walk again, and just to come to terms with what had happened to me and how it had impacted my life. The first few years after the accident was a blur. I don’t have much memory of it at all, it almost felt like an out-of-body experience. The accident impacted on my family hugely. I am the eldest child of three and also the only female. My entire family and friends all suffered personally themselves.”
Despite her incredible recovery, Keeli still experiences the effects of her brain injury every day.
“Along with the scarring, I have also developed functional neurological disorder, non-epileptic attack disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder,” she says. “Although I am lucky to alive, I am still reminded daily of the traumatic event and struggle daily with the repercussions I now have to live with.”
New research from Admiral Motor Insurance reveals 52% of young adults have felt pressured to drive in a certain way with friends in the car, yet a third would not speak up if they felt unsafe, with the top reasons for staying silent include not wanting to make things awkward and appearing boring. Keeli is partnering with Admiral’s Your Ride Your Rules campaign to encourage young drivers to be careful and conscientious on the roads.
“I wish people knew the impact drink driving can have on someone else’s life, if not tragically end it,” Keeli says. “The choices that a person makes before getting into a car are so important, not only to themselves but to others too. You are one decision away from potentially ending or completely altering someone’s life. That risk is not worth taking.
“The driver in my crash ran from the scene and was found and arrested several hours later. He was then later sentenced to prison; however, he did not serve his full sentence.”
Keeli wants to stress to others that the crash didn’t just impact her. It impacted all her friends and family too.
“The collision impacted my family and friends a lot,” she says. “I was told that they all attended church to say their prayers and were constantly rooting for me to wake up. My friends visited me in hospital whilst I was in a coma and also when I had woken up. My family sat at my bedside around the clock and tried to keep each other positive, none of which I remember. My friends often posted messages to me on my social media platform, which were later printed out and read out to me.
“It was a scary and uncertain time for them all, especially my family. They were sat down and told of the possibility that I may never wake up and if I did, what the effects of the brain damage could cause. I know that this had a devastating effect on them and was very difficult to comprehend. Now I have children of my own, I can’t imagine what they were going through at that time.”
The collision still affects Keeli to this day: she has invisible disabilities as a result and suffers on a daily basis trying to manage them.
“I try to cope with my symptoms by getting enough quality sleep, avoiding stress where possible, finding small snippets of time for myself and just being mindful, none of which come easy,” Keeli says. “I try stay positive by having a positive mindset, gratitude and just knowing that beyond my problems, I am so lucky to be alive.
“I am also very grateful of how well I have recovered, considering the significant injuries I sustained. Although I do still suffer now as a consequence, I just have to be mindful that it could have been a very different outcome.”
She also praised the Headway charity for giving her a safe space to feel seen, included and heard amongst like-minded people, who also struggle with the effects of brain injury. “They offered therapeutic support, as well as educational and social interaction,” she adds.
“The Headway team made me feel part of something and gave me a voice that I had buried for a long time.”