Blinking awake, I squinted at the bright lights above me.
Then I realised I was in a bed, and I saw friends and family crowded around me.
‘What’s going on?’ I said, feeling fuzzy and confused. ‘Where’s my boyfriend?’
Everyone exchanged awkward glances.
I soon worked out I was in a hospital bed – I was on the neuro rehab ward at James Cook University Hospital.
‘What happened?’ I asked my mum Victoria, 50.
‘You’ve been in a coma for three weeks, Esther,’ Mum said tearfully.
I felt so confused.
My whole body ached, but I didn’t remember anything.
How did this happen? I thought, confused.
I spent the next three months in hospital – Mum never left my side and I remember friends coming and going, but most of it was a blur.
I had extensive injuries – I’d lost eight teeth, broken my jaw, cheek and nose, and had a brain injury, too.
It took weeks
