A CHESTER triathlete who was left critically ill after being involved in a horrific crash during training is on the homeward leg of an amazing charity mission.
Charlotte Roach, 23, of Housesteads Drive, Hoole, was so keen to repay the organisation that helped save her life she embarked on a 10,000 mile journey to cycle from Beijing to the UK with the Olympic torch.
Former Christleton High School pupil Charlotte had dreams of representing Britain in the 2012 Olympics triathlon team before they were shattered in 2009 when she was involved in a head-on collision while training, leaving her fighting for her life and eventually needing to learn how to walk again.
Charlotte said: “In November, 2009 I was run over by an oncoming Land-Rover while out training in Loughborough, where I was based and training full time for the 2012 Olympics in triathlon.
“I was critically injured with two punctured lungs, multiple broken ribs, 12 fractured vertebrae and a broken collarbone.
“I survived only because of the expertise of a Leicester Tiger’s rugby physio who happened to come across the scene, and the speed and expertise of the air ambulance service which, unlike other services, carries a doctor onboard.
“Without the skills of the doctor I would not have been able to have chest drains inserted on site – enabling some function from my punctured lungs, giving me more time to make it to hospital.”
After emergency surgery on her chest and spine, Charlotte was in hospital for 11 days and tried to resume life as it was before the accident.
She added: “This was a tough journey, leaving hospital with no expectations of what functions I would be able to regain, having to relearn everything from scratch.
“I think I surprised myself and many others (medics and sportspeople) with what I was able to achieve."
She has paid tribute to those who supported her throughout her ordeal, including double Olympic gold medalist Dame Kelly Holmes and Merseyside entrepreneur and Olympic investor Barrie Wells.
After just six months Charlotte entered into an elite European cup triathlon race, where she miraculously finished fourth.
She said: “I completed this race despite metalwork in my spine limiting my movement and making training difficult and a broken collarbone – somewhat inconvenient!
"I have since undergone two more rounds of surgery to fix my collarbone and to have the metalwork removed from my spine."
After completing her degree at Cambridge University, fearless Charlotte soon geared up to cycle 10,000 miles from China to raise money for the Air Ambulance Service – a charity she said helped to save her life.
During her four-month epic journey, she has had numerous setbacks, including theft of her tent, imprisonment on a train, attacks by magpies, severe dehydration, and dozens of punctures.
But Charlotte is now in Greece, on the final leg of her journey across Europe. So far she has raised about £5,800 towards her target of £7,200.
She added: “I hope to encourage those who have undergone major surgery to get back up and live life as they did before.”
To donate go to www.justgiving.com/Charlotte-Roach or for more news about Charlotte's journey, read her blog on www.fuzzytravel.com/ charliroach