Woman given second chance after freak accident

A woman has said she was given a “second chance at life” after a fundraising drive allowed her to have a pioneering operation in Spain.

Rachel Pighills, 38, suffered a complex injury in 2018 when she was hit by a ceiling fan in a freak accident, which led to her skull slipping down on to her spine.

Mrs Pighills, from Pershore in Worcestershire, said she was delighted to be able to “talk and breathe and have a normal conversation” again, after surgery in Barcelona two years ago.

“I feel like I’ve been given this second chance at life, so I’ve got to make the most of what I’ve got,” she told BBC Hereford & Worcester.

Mrs Pighills’ accident, which happened in her Worcestershire home, damaged her neck and left it struggling to support the weight of her head.

Her family and friends set up a crowdfunding bid for her surgery and an anonymous benefactor from Warwickshire made up most of the shortfall with a £130,000 donation in May 2022.

Mrs Pighills, who has a 17-year-old daughter, said she could now go on family days out again, albeit with recovery time factored in afterwards, and she could even go swimming with help from her husband Guy.

But she added that she had had to “to adapt to do things differently”, because she still can not move her head or neck, so she has to turn using the lower parts of her spine or waist.

“There’s an awful lot that I can’t do,” she said, adding that she used to ride horses but can no longer and she also cannot drive.

“But it’s worth it, to be able to be living.”

Mrs Pighills said mentally processing the accident had been extremely hard, but she felt she had now turned a corner in accepting what had happened to her.

“Mentally it’s been tough - it’s been the toughest recovery that you could ever imagine. It was absolutely brutal,” she said.

She added that the huge support from loved ones and strangers, both for her operation and her recovery, had helped her to focus on the positives.

“It just restores your faith in humanity,” she said.

Her husband Guy also recalled the “heartwarming” help they had received, including one friend who organised a festival at the local pub and bingo nights to raise money for the operation.

“Rachel just inspires me, the way she’s powered through it,” he added.

“I find it hard to believe that we’ve lived through it all sometimes.”