Woman injured in lorry crash hits milestone recovery moment but may still lose her arm

Charlene Morrissey, is still in a hospital in Bali almost three after she was in an accident involving her scooter, a lorry and another vehicle - but she’s hit a major milestone in her recovery.

The beautician was knocked onto the road after a vehicle collided with her scooter and then a lorry ran over her arm on Sunday July 21, according to a GoFundMe page set up for her.

The 33-year-old was rushed to hospital, and has since received multiple blood transfusions and ‘life saving surgeries’ following the ‘very serious road accident’, according to Paula Gibbons, a friend of Morrissey’s family who has set up the page. Now, her sister has revealed she’ll be able to to fly back home to Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, later today (Friday August 9). Medics are also continuing to give her more surgeries as they hope to be able to save her arm, but she has had to have some skin on her hand removed as it turned gangrene.

Her sister Alana Crofton gave an update on her condition via Instagram last night (Thursday August 8). She wrote: “We’re coming home. . . . Pulling this off has been exhausting.

“Charlene will continue her care back in the UK where she will have a long journey, we land tomorrow and will be taken to the hospital where Charlene will be admitted.”

“This has been overwhelming, emotional and hard for everyone . . . the suffering Charlene has had I couldn’t even imagine, but as her sister I honestly could not tell you the strength and courage she has shown and how proud myself, her family and friends are to call her our own superwoman.”

In a previous Instagram update on Friday August 2 Crofton said: "We had another operation on Friday (August 2) and waited a very long time for an update; however some of the skin in Charlene’s hand was necrotic and has since been removed.

"We have a medical team flying over who will be with us on Tuesday (August 6) and the hope will be we can get Charlene fit enough to fly. We are trying not to get excited as you will be aware it’s been one step forward two steps back but she will get there, strongest gal I know. I can’t express how much this means to everyone who loves Charlene and Charlene herself.”

Crofton also revealed her sister had hit a major milestone in her recovery by posting a video to her social media showing Morrissey "up and walking for the first time".

In the caption, she wrote: "Us, the doctors and the nurses still can’t quite believe 2 weeks ago Charlene was very unstable we had no idea what her outcome would be, look how far she has come!

"Hope this makes you all smile as much as it does us ! Long long road to recovery with multiple surgeries still to come but we are moving! So strange to see her with no oxygen and wires off for a whole 30 seconds but will hopefully be what we get to see everyday in the next few weeks".

Just a few days before the accident, Morrisey had shared a post on her Instagram page, @___Itsher, about how she had gone through the “hardest period of [her] life in Bali.” She added that she accepted the hardship because she was “pulled here for more healing, learning [and] understanding.” She went on: “Remembering my own values and that even if I ger hurt I still have an open heart to love”.

The post received many comments of support. One said: “This is amazing to see @___itsher you're displaying some amount of strength. Wishing you a speedy recovery, you got this.”

A second said: “We are all so so so proud of you.” A third added: “Sending you so much love, strength and healing you way! You got this!”

The GoFundMe page, which was set up to help Morrissey’s family with medical expenses as her insurance company supposedly refused to cover any costs, has now been disabled as more than £102,000 has been raised.

Morrissey had been living and working in Bali for six months before the accident. She has already undergone a skin graft, but this failed as the skin died.

She will now need to have a further complex procedure called pedicle flap surgery which will involve attaching her arm and hand to her stomach in an attempt to regrow her skin. Her family hope that this will mean that her arm can be saved.