'My baby daughter's buggy was smashed into a wall by a motorbike - it could've been so much worse'

Claire Clarke, 40, cannot rather callback the moments that led to an Earth-shattering infinitesimal that changed her beingness everlastingly aft being knocked down portion retired with her family

A mum narrowly avoided being killed aft she was deed by a motorbike that besides sent her baby daughter's buggy smashing into a wall, and says things could person been overmuch worse.

By a immense changeable of luck, Claire Clark's 18-month-old was alternatively being carried by her husband adjacent and some were near unharmed. Their different young daughter, five, was besides unharmed successful an incidental that near the 40-year-old successful a coma with nary representation of the accident.

The motorcyclist had mislaid power connected the road, mounted the curb and sped onto the pavement straight towards the family. Claire was wholly swept disconnected her feet and ended up fracturing her skull successful an wounded that needed exigency surgery.

For weeks, the Mirror has followed the life-changing moments that person shaped the outlook of bonzer people. Speaking to the Mirror's Back from the Brink podcast, Claire explains however she underwent exigency country to relieve the unit connected her swelling brain, which progressive removing a conception of skull and storing it successful her abdomen for "safekeeping, to support the nerves alive".

She tells the Mirror’s Cecilia Adamou astir her agelong and challenging betterment - which was some carnal and intelligence - aft her clip successful a medically-induced coma. “It was a lawsuit of: if they don't run - due to the fact that my encephalon was swelling truthful dangerously - I could die. If they bash operate, I could inactive dice due to the fact that they don't cognize until they get successful there.

"And if they bash operate, they don't cognize what the consequences would be. Could I beryllium paralysed? Could I beryllium brain-dead? It was a existent lawsuit of my hubby and my household conscionable going 'do what you can'."

It each started connected a seemingly mean time for Claire. She was joined by her hubby and 2 young daughters, walking backmost from a schoolhouse assembly. She said: "On the time of the accident, we - arsenic a household - went to my daughter’s schoolhouse to spot her successful a peculiar assembly astir being a pirate.

"She went to schoolhouse successful afloat pirate gear, and I had made her a lunchbox due to the fact that they had peculiar lunches astatine the schoolhouse that were pirate-themed. She was fussy, too. So I made a pirate packed luncheon and her sandwich was successful the signifier of a pirate ship."

These details, however, aren't from Claire's ain representation and person been recounted to her by her family. This is due to the fact that conscionable astir the country from their home, Claire was struck by an out-of-control motorcycle that had mounted the pavement. Thrown onto the level and landing connected her head, Claire suffered a catastrophic encephalon injury.

"I didn't retrieve that happening,” she explained. “Me doing her costume oregon making the sandwich. I was looking done my camera, and abruptly determination was a sandwich successful the signifier of a boat.

“And it's so, truthful strange. I don't cognize if it was a operation of virtually the hits connected the head, oregon the medicine they enactment you nether for a medically induced coma, oregon immoderate it was. But my representation is truthful unspeakable that for 2 weeks earlier the accident, there's nothing.”

She said: "As it was, it was conscionable maine that was really deed and falling backwards and fracturing my skull. Basically the encephalon is similar a strawberry successful a jam jar, and erstwhile you propulsion it forwards, the strawberry volition deed the skull. That’s what happened to me. It was a ‘Glasgow coma’: I was out, and retired consecutive away.

“But rather by coincidence, determination was an ambulance crossed the roadworthy seeing idiosyncratic other that had a bosom problem. They instantly came implicit to maine and realised this is big, and they got maine to a neuro section successful Southampton existent quick."

After 9 days successful a coma, Claire woke up successful intensive care, but her betterment was acold from over. She has since chronicled her astonishing travel - and her inspirational outlook connected her beingness aft astir losing it - successful the podcast.

Whilst saying that her communicative feels similar it belongs to idiosyncratic other owed to the representation nonaccomplishment during that time, Claire is arrogant of however she has pieced unneurotic her beingness aft the accident. Speaking of however her cognition has changed since the accident, she explained: "I truly get FOMO [fear of missing out], and truthful I'm like, I accidental yes to everything and thing due to the fact that I privation to spot people. I privation to acquisition stuff."

She added: "If you acceptable your caput to something, it tin happen. It conscionable takes a truly agelong clip to happen. Stay affirmative due to the fact that negativity drains you and the radical astir you.

"If something's bothering you, you should really talk. Talk therapy is different thing, I curse by that. But yeah, enactment affirmative and it volition autumn into place."

Claire added: "I’ve been fixed a 2nd chance."

You tin perceive to the afloat interrogation with Claire Clark wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple and Spotify .

Back from the Brink is simply a Reach Studio accumulation for the Daily Mirror, hosted by Cecilia Adamou and produced by Daniel J. McLaughlin.