One Irish woman speaks out about her horrific injuries following a car crash
31-year-old Gráinne Kealy was travelling to Laois from Galway in her boyfriend's car nine years ago when she decided to rest her feet on the dashboard in front of her.
"I had decided along the way that I would be more comfortable if my feet were on the dashboard.
"It was something I rarely did and only did that morning as I had bought a new pair of Ugg boots and knew that I wouldn't dirty the dashboard. Silly when you think about it!
"By doing this my feet were placed directly on top of the airbag without realising."
As they travelled though through Borris-in-Ossary on December 16 2006, the jeep skidded on a patch of black ice and crashed into a wall.
"As accidents go it was a bad enough one. The jeep was destroyed but there were no other vehicles involved. My boyfriend got out with minor injuries, thank god, but he has all the memories.
"It is thanks to him and my family that I can tell you this story."
Gráinne's seating position in the car seriously impacted the rest of her life.
"When the jeep collided with the wall the airbags inflated, as they do, but because my feet were on top of [my airbag] it actually pushed my feet, knee's first into my face.
"I kneed myself in the face at 200mph!"
Gráinne's face was severly injured.
"I had really done a job on myself. I had multiple facial fractures - my mother was told that I had broken every bone in my face - a Cerebrospinal Fluid leak from my brain and I lost two teeth."
A team of surgeons at Beaumont Hospital worked hard to literally put Grainne's face back together.
"They told me that I had pushed in and up my face and they would have to basically pull it all out and put it back together."
The nightmare continued. A year later, she received more bad news.
"In 2007 I experienced a set back and had to have my forehead removed. Yes, my forehead. And yes, all of it.
"I lived without my forehead for two years until the June 17 2009 when I got my brand new Italian ceramic forehead.
"I had nothing in place of my forehead for two years. My head sunk in and I looked a little strange. But thanks to the amazing work done by the great surgeons in Beaumont Hospital you would never know it was fake."
Despite the apprent success of Grainne's operations, she was left with a minor brain injury.
"I am also recovering from a minor brain injury called Acquired Brain Injury but thanks to the people at A.B.I Ireland I am well on my way to being me again!"
Gráinne has lost many memories, including everything she experienced during the car accident.
"It has been a long long road. I have no memory of the accident, the three months leading up to it or the month following it. I have a few little memories from my time in Beaumont but not much.
"One of my first memories is looking in the mirror for the first time. I didn't recognize the face looking back at me. That is one of the worse memories I have and one that I hope with all my heart not many people will ever have to go through.
"Not many people know about Acquired Brain Injury and to be honest neither did I.
"I do find it tough some days when I constantly lose words while in the middle of a conversation. This can happen to me twenty times a day.
"I get headaches when too many people are talking around and to me, when someone tries to talk to me over music and I sometimes find it difficult to stay focused.
"They have also helped me with my problem of not liking my new face. I still dislike looking in a mirror and I do not like my face but I can deal with it much better now.
"I know when things are getting a little too much now and I know how to deal with it. I would have been lost without them and I will never be able to thank them enough for helping me."
Gráinne hopes no one else will suffer the way she did from such a simple mistake.
"I am sharing my story now because I can't stand the thought of another person having to go through what I have had to go through. I would hate for another persons family to have to get that dreaded phone call as mine did!
"I have always said to my mother, I got the pain but they got the memories."
She feels that very few people realise the danger they put themselves in when they rest their feet while sitting in cars.
"I see passengers with their feet on the dashboard a lot of the time and it breaks my heart. I'm hoping you will pass on this message and hopefully people will understand how dangerous it is."
"One of the worse parts about it is that it seems so obvious when you think about it. So please listen to me and learn from my horrible experience."
For more information on Aquired Brain Injury Ireland, go to abiireland.ie.
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