'There's always a silver lining round the corner': Inspirational teenager suffered 96 PER CENT burns in horrific coach crash and defied all the odds to survive after 200 operations
- Catrin Pugh, now 20, was pulled from the burning coach wreckage
- She spent three months in a coma after the crash in the French Alps
- Only the soles of her feet and parts of her scalp were untouched by flames
- She underwent more than 200 operations and was on life-support
- 'Remember there's an upside to everything', says inspirational Miss Pugh
- Hospital staff name her 'the girl with the million dollar smile'
Catrin Pugh, now 20, spent three months in a coma after she was pulled from the wreckage of a coach that smashed into a cliffside in the French Alps last April.
Only the soles of her feet and parts of her scalp were untouched by the flames.
Survivor: Catrin Pugh, now 20, spent three
months in a coma after she was pulled from the wreckage of a coach that
smashed into a cliffside in the French Alps last April
Ordeal: Miss Pugh, from Wrexham, north Wales,
had to undergo more than 200 operations and was on a life-support
machine for 90 days
Miss Pugh, from Wrexham, north Wales, had to undergo more than 200 operations and was on a life-support machine for 90 days.
Medics said her odds of survival were just 1,000/1.
Speaking to the Mirror, she said: 'It's been really horrible. I woke up from the coma after three months not knowing where I was or what had happened.
Miss Pugh, who hopes to go to university to
become a teacher, said: 'I though I was never going to get better and
there was no future for me, but I have had fantastic support from my
friends and family and the staff at the hospital have been amazing'
Before: Miss Pugh, who had been set to start an
event management course at Manchester University prior to the crash,
says she only has hazy memories of the disaster, caused when the
vehicle's brakes failed
Tragedy: The coach Miss Pugh was travelling on
narrowly missed a treacherous ravine when it crashed on the notorious
Alpine route, used by cyclists in the Tour de France
'At first, I thought I'd never get better and there was no future for me. But I would say to anyone faced with big hurdles in their life, remember there's an upside to everything and a silver lining around the corner.'
'Make sure you listen to your friends and family when they are telling you it's going to be ok.'
The coach she was on narrowly missed a treacherous ravine when it crashed on the notorious Alpine route, commonly used by cyclists in the Tour de France.
Maurice Wrightson, the driver, was hailed as a hero after he managed to steer away from the huge drop. He died when the fireball swept through the front of the bus.
Support: Miss Pugh with burns surgeon Ian James and ward manager Donnas Wilkinson
Miss Pugh, who had been set to start an event management course at Manchester University before the crash, says she only has hazy memories of the disaster, caused when the vehicle's brakes failed.
While in hospital Miss Pugh, who still hopes to go to university to become a teacher, was visited by fellow burns victim Katie Piper - who had travelled to Whistoin Hospital, Merseyside after hearing of her ordeal.
And her positivity has also warmed the hearts of staff at the hospital who nicknamed her the 'girl with the million pound smile'.
During her recovery she has had to learn to walk again, as well as many everyday skills such as cooking and washing herself.
Miss Pugh's positivity warmed the hearts of staff at the hospital who nicknamed her the 'girl with the million pound smile'
Family bond: Miss Pugh with her parents Sara and Carl, and her younger sister, 17-year-old Marie
As part of her treatment, which has so far cost £1million, she underwent skin grafts from her mother and brother, and had further skin artificially grown in a laboratory.
She says she can recall the coach going up in flames, and being at the side of the road - yelling that she was in pain, before she fell unconscious.
'I remember waking up in hospital three months later and was really confused and had to have my parents tell me what had happened,' she told the Daily Post.
'I though I was never going to get better and there was no future for me, but I have had fantastic support from my friends and family and the staff at the hospital have been amazing.'
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