A car crash victim left wheelchair-bound after doctors discovered she was pregnant and could not operate on her injuries will learn to walk again – with her new baby.
Gemma Holmes, 26, was seriously hurt and left in a coma after she collided with a parked car while driving a scooter.
She was rushed to hospital where doctors discovered she was four weeks pregnant which meant she could not undergo vital surgery on her back.
Gemma was told she could only have physiotherapy and the surgery would have to wait until after she had given birth – confining her to a wheelchair.
She has not been able to walk thought the pregnancy and has now given birth to 6lbs baby boy Ruben.
Now the baby has arrived medics say Gemma can have the operation in six months time which means she will be learning to walk again at the same time as Ruben takes his first steps.
Gemma, of Dilton Marsh, Wilts., said: “The doctors have said they will operate on my back after Ruben is six months old, because I’m breast feeding and they want to give me time to bond.
“The doctors will have to break my back again and put metal plates in. I will then have up to two more years in the wheelchair before they think I may be able to walk and run with my baby.
“I couldn’t stop crying when they first showed him to me, because he is my little miracle baby. I was just so happy to see him after everything we’ve been through.”
Gemma suffered severe head and neck injuries in the horror smash in September last year and was airlifted to hospital in a coma.
She woke up to be told she was pregnant and could not undergo the vital operation to fix her back to help her walk.
Ruben was born on Thursday at the Royal United Hospital in Bath and is being looked after by Gemma and her mum Julie Brown.
Gemma, who is no longer with Ruben’s father, said: “The nurses at the hospital were all absolutely brilliant, which helped put me at ease.
“My mum has been amazing and helps me out a lot, but I can feed him and I also changed his nappy for the first time the other day.”
Julie added: “Gemma is so happy and so excited about the baby. It’s amazing he is here after everything that has happened.
“We had some scares during the pregnancy but he is beautiful.”
Gemma suffered amnesia in the crash – losing three years of memories including all knowledge of her baby’s father.
She was injured in September 2012 and was in a coma until the following October – then placed back into a coma until the December.
The former care home worker woke up to find she was pregnant but had no memory of her unborn baby’s father Luke Dicks, 31.
The pair had split up two weeks before the crash but she lost three years of memories – including Luke.
Gemma says her and Luke will not be getting back together but he is now visiting the mum and baby.
She said: “When I woke up and I was told I was pregnant I remember thinking, “what? how did that happen?”
“I have been told recently that I said some time before the crash I didn’t want kids before I was 30.
“I was just in shock. Ruben’s dad was not around while I was in hospital but now he has said he wants to see him everyday.
“It is just great for my son. There is no chance we will get back together but I am glad he will be part of Ruben’s life.
“Ruben is just gorgeous, he is perfect. He is so good we have to wake him up for feeds.”
Gemma moved in with her mum Julie when she was discharged from hospital on December 19.
Julie, a grandmother-of-six said: “I was told Gemma was pregnant a week after the accident. It is all a blur that time.
“I didn’t tell anyone for a month because they didn’t think she would make it through.
“It was such a shock for her when the hospital staff told her she was pregnant – she had lost three years of memory. It has just been very emotional.”
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