Scooter crash in India left student in coma and unable to remember her own name

A student was left fighting for her life after suffering a brain injury in a scooter crash at the end of a dream trip around India.

While Olivia North, 21, lay in a coma, her family were making plans to meet her from the plane on her return to the UK.

But after not hearing from her for two days, dad Nic frantically rang around hostels where she had been staying, before locating her in the intensive care unit of a Goa hospital.

Olivia couldn't remember some family members or her own name at first, but a month on from the crash on 5 May, she is preparing to fly home to continue her recovery in Wales.

Describing every dad's nightmare, Nic said: "When I couldn't get hold of her, on the other side of the world, I was frantically trying to contact anyone who ever knew her.

"Then flying out with my stomach in knots, not knowing if she would recognise me. It was so good to see her alive and hold her."

Olivia is still suffering from deep fatigue, and is unable to do much more than walk 100 metres (328ft) before "curling up and sleeping for the rest of the day", according to her dad.

But doctors have given her the all clear to fly back to the UK at the end of the week and continue her recovery at home in Cardiff.

Olivia had finished the second year of a Media and Communications degree at Goldsmiths, University of London, when she decided to have a break from studying, before completing the final year.

After working in bars and restaurants to save money, she left for India just after Christmas.

Her adventure around the south Asian country took her to Rishikesh in the north, the ancient temple towns of Pushkar and Hampi and India's largest city Mumbai.

Olivia then decided to have some time relaxing on the beaches of Goa before flying home.

"The night before she was going to travel back, we were all getting ready to meet her in London, and she went for dinner with friends," Nic added.

He said she was travelling back to her accommodation by scooter when she "smashed her head on the road or wall, knocked herself unconscious".

"She wasn't wearing a helmet - absolutely idiotic. If something comes from this, I want every kid on a gap year to wear a helmet.

"It's non-negotiable, it's a fight for survival on those roads, scooters jostling everywhere."

This was when all contact with her family ceased, and Nic described the panic of phoning around friends, and places she had visited and stayed in Goa for any kind of steer on where she was and what had happened.

He found the hostel where Olivia had been staying in the Arambol area, and the owner was able to establish she had been in an accident and taken to a south Goa hospital just after midnight on 5 May.

Nic rang around fearful of what information he would receive, before finding the place where Olivia was being treated.

"They said she was in a coma, and put me through to the ITU [intensive care] ward. Olivia had been in a coma and treated there for 36 hours," he added.

"She was starting to regain consciousness before falling back into a coma again. She had a bleed on her brain measuring 3.6mm - that was the scary bit.

"They told me if that didn't dissolve, they'd have to drill into her skull, and they'd make that call in two days."

Nic and Olivia's sister Beatrice, 19, flew out to India on the earliest possible flight, but were unsure about what state they would find her in.

Luckily, medication had reduced the bleed, and there was no need for brain surgery.

"When we got there on the Saturday, four days after, she didn't know her own name," her dad said.

"But she recognised us, and we had a very tearful cuddle for a very long time."

Olivia had massive bruising and MRI scans uncovered a serious injury to the left temporal lobe - the part of the brain responsible for storing memories, as well as her cerebellum, which controls orientation and balance.

While she recognised Nic and Beatrice, she thought her brother Sam was her uncle, and had no recollection of her beloved dog Raj, who died just before Christmas.

"She couldn't remember where she grew up, near Cardigan, where she went to school, teachers, it was heartbreaking," Nic said.

"It will likely come back. The last week or so, it has started coming back. On her side is she is young, and incredibly tough."

While Olivia was not fit to be discharged, Nic described people being brought in with limbs hanging off, who he believed were in greater need of the intensive care beds.

"The hospital absolutely saved her life, it was in the balance initially," he said, adding that he would "always be grateful".

Nic's only knowledge of Olivia's condition was through using Google searches.

He checked her into a Goa hotel, from where she has been receiving treatment and medication from a private medical facility.

On the second night after being discharged, Olivia collapsed because of dehydration and was rushed back to hospital.

But week on week she has been improving, from having little memory of her past life, and being unable to do simple things she once took for granted, such as using a mobile phone.

"The journey will be the equivalent to running a marathon - getting out of bed and into an armchair is so tiring," Nic said.

"She has no memory of any of what happened, just the last few days she's started remembering what happened yesterday."

However, this is quite normal for brain injuries, according to Olivia's neurologist.

At first, doctors were worried cabin pressure could cause a blood vessel to burst, but have now given Olivia clearance to fly home.

Nic is looking forward to her being back in her own bedroom, where he hopes familiarity and care in the Welsh NHS will further speed her recovery.

While Olivia had travel insurance, the fact she was no wearing a helmet when the crash happened means she has been unable to claim.

The cost of private healthcare and getting her home is around £20,000, but friends and family have rallied around and so far raised almost £12,000.

Olivia is recalling more and more aspects of her life in the UK - although some of her dad's questions are proving more difficult than others.

"Memories are starting to come back," Nic said.

"I asked 'who is the prime minister?'

"She looked at me blankly and said 'I probably wouldn't have known that before the accident'."