IT has been a long road, but Kristine Grandfield and her daughter Chelsey know they are two of the lucky ones.
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The mother and daughter, of Newnham, were seriously injured in a single vehicle car crash between Scottsdale and Lilydale, on March 16, 2013.
It was a wet day, after a long dry spell, when the accident occurred.
The car Mrs Grandfield and Chelsey had been passengers in spun out on a sweeping bend, flipped twice and ended up on a bank, on the wrong side of the road.
Mrs Grandfield had to be pulled out of the car as she was concussed, while Chelsey broke three vertebrae – C3, C4 and C6.
Chelsey, who is just about to finish at Newstead College, was in hospital for six days and operation complications saw her lose all movement in the left side of her body.
She was in a wheelchair for four months and while since she has gotten most movement back, she will never be allowed to participate in dangerous sports again.
The pair are sharing their story as a way to let others know there is support out there and as part of Sunday’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
Mrs Grandfield said eight months after the crash, she contacted Road Trauma Support.
‘‘I just fell into a heap, because you just get on with it, and then I started to get crabby and irritated with everyone, because I was trying to look after Chelsey and work at the same time,’’ Mrs Grandfield said.
‘‘(Road Trauma Support) were marvellous. They made you feel comfortable about talking about it.’’
Chelsey said she was now a fanatic about people driving safely on the road.
‘‘Ours was an accident, but then there are people who do drive dangerously and speed and take risks,’’ she said.
‘‘Imagine how much worse it could be, when you take those risks?’’
Road Trauma Support can be contacted 67776252 or info@roadtraumasupport.
org.au