Hospital worker returns to job four years after horror crash

By Peter Lane

A hospital administrator is back in work after a car crash in 2016 left her seriously injured.

Melania Tackie-Abia, from Chelsea, was driving down Leyton Road in east London when a car travelling in the opposite direction swerved into her lane.

The head-on collision fractured Melania’s leg in several places, perforated her bowel and damaged her abdomen wall, leaving her on a long road to recovery.

Melania said: “After it happened, the pain I experienced was unbearable at times and my legs would be so swollen and stiff, making it incredibly difficult to get about.”

After the crash bystanders pulled Melania out of the crushed car door and an ambulance rushed her to hospital where she immediately underwent 12 hours of emergency surgery.

Post-op Melania spent three weeks in the intensive care unit, where complications developed.

As a result of her injuries, Melania was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and developed a dangerous blood clot.

When her breathing became weak, doctors feared a pulmonary embolism – a blockage in the lungs’ arteries – may threaten her life.

But after three weeks in intensive care, and a week on the general trauma ward, Melania was able to return home using a wheelchair and crutches.

Four years on from the crash, and after a year of physiotherapy and additional surgery to shave bone off from around her knee, Melania has had a child with her partner Vernon, and has been able to return to work as a hospital administrator.

Melania said: “The past few years have been truly awful. I had so many flashbacks and nightmares about the accident while I was in hospital, and it’s really affected my confidence.

“I even took some driving lessons to help me with my travel anxiety and start driving again.

“Getting back to work was a big milestone for me, and I’m determined to continue with my recovery by taking each day at a time.

“All I can hope for now is that others realise what devastation can happen on the roads, as I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what I have.”

Melania is now supporting Irwin Mitchell, the legal team which helped her gain access to the specialist rehabilitation and therapies, by highlighting the importance of taking care on the road during Road Safety Week.

On February 2, 2017, the driver of the other vehicle was convicted of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was jailed for 26 months and disqualified from driving for five years.

Pictured top: Melania with partner Vernon and daughter Malaysia