Coma survivor's praise for trauma charity

A woman who woke from a month-long coma unable to speak but able to sing an Adele song word perfectly has paid tribute to the charity which supported her recovery.

Georgia Scully, from Elland, near Halifax, suffered a life-changing brain injury in a car crash in Huddersfield two years ago at the age of 23.

She shared her story at the launch of Day One Trauma Support's campaign to raise £75,000 to help people who have suffered a catastrophic injury and their families.

Now 25, she said the charity had been her family's "lifeline in our time of need".

Georgia, then an office administrator, had been on a night out with a friend when they had accepted a lift home early on the morning of 27 August 2022.

However, the car they were travelling in was involved in a crash with another vehicle on Norwood Road in Birkby which left Georgia needing to be cut free from the wreckage by firefighters.

She was taken to hospital with broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, damaged lungs, and a severe bleed on her brain.

Georgia's mum, Sharon, now 51, said: "It's the most terrifying thing when something happens to your child.

"We were just numb. Our whole world had fallen apart."

When Georgia regained some use of her speech a few days later, she told her family she thought she was 16 and still at school.

She then spent four months in hospital learning to walk and talk again and still remembers nothing about the day and night leading up to the crash.

While she was recovering, Amanda Booth, a caseworker at Day One Trauma Support, suggested to Georgia's younger sister, Nicole, now 22, that she create a playlist of her older sibling's favourite songs to help her recovery.

Despite not being able to form sentences to speak to her family, Georgia was able to sing along to Adele's Someone Like You and Cardi B's Bodak Yellow.

Mum Sharon said: "I think it brought tears to everyone on the ward.

"It was heart-warming to hear her little voice again, because that's what she used to do in the shower."

Georgia, who continues to receive support from her parents, has since regained full speech and movement, though she says she has still not "fully recovered".

However, she admitted her vocals were "a bit out of tune" compared to Adele's.

On her hopes for the future, Georgia said she just wanted to get "back to normal".

"I want to start working again, start driving again and raise loads of money for Day One Trauma because they helped me in my time of need," she said.

Mum Sharon added: "I just hope she can get on with her life like any other 25-year-old."

Lucy Nickson, from the Leeds-based charity, said: “We’re so grateful to Georgia and her family for sharing their inspiring story to support this year’s appeal.

"We know many people are struggling financially, and the impact is only compounded when a family member suffers a sudden catastrophic injury and faces a long recovery journey, often with a disability and reduced income."

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