A JOHNSTONE woman who cheated death following a devastating car smash is taking her tale to rookie drivers to warn them to stay safe on the roads.
Bryony Lovett, 21, had to learn to walk, talk and eat again after she was left in a coma when her car skidded on spilled fuel and hit a lamppost.
Her condition was deemed so terminal by doctors that her loved ones were told to say their last goodbyes following the incident in 2017.
But brave Bryony battled back from the brink and is now working with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) to share her powerful story with school pupils, so they do not become another bleak statistic.
She said: “I should be dead, I know that. My mum was told I was going to die and, if I did survive, it would be a different Bryony, with a cognitive impairment.
“Instead of planning my 21st birthday earlier this year, my family could have been visiting my grave.
“I do feel like I have been given a second chance and I want to use that.
“I wasn’t speeding or playing with my phone – I did nothing wrong – but I was involved in this terrible crash and want other young people to know what happened to me because I want to make them think twice before they get behind that wheel.”
Bryony spent three months in hospital with a fractured spine, punctured spleen and lacerated liver.
The politics student endured a painful rehabilitation process but defied medical experts to get her life on the mend quicker than predicted.
She puts much of that down to the inspiration of two men in her life – her brother Harry, who competed at the UK Special Olympic National Games, and her boyfriend Josh, who has been a constant source of support.
Bryony and Josh recently returned from Disneyland after he made good on a promise delivered while she remained in a coma.
“If sharing my story saves one person, then that’s my job done,” said Bryony.
She will be joined on her travels by community firefighter Steven Smith, who has praised her for speaking out on road safety.
“Ultimately, we want people to listen and think about what they are hearing and to become safer drivers,” said Steven.
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