Inverness judo star Stephanie Inglis speaks for first time since motorcycle accident
STEPHANIE Inglis is continuing her remarkable recovery from a serious motorcycle accident by speaking for the first time.
The judo star said “hi” to Tracy Gehlan, a close family friend of the Inglis family, in a moment which left her and the judo star’s mother Alison speechless on Wednesday.
Steph has been settling in to her new surroundings this week at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital, after arriving back in the UK on Monday from Thailand. Doctors say she is clear from infections and can now breathe without assistance, further indications of her continual progress.
It is the first word the Commonwealth Games silver medallist has spoken in the five weeks since the accident, which happened in the Vietnamese city of Ha Long, where she was teaching English.
Mrs Gehlan said: “When we got to the room Stephanie was asleep. Alison gently awakened her and said ‘Steph, look who’s here to see you’.
“Steph partially opened her eye, looked, and when she saw me smiled and for the first time. She looked straight at me and said ‘hi’. We were speechless.
“I was overwhelmed with the moment, as was Alison. I stayed for a while and spoke to Steph about my family and funny things they had done.”
The 27-year-old had been sedated following the trip home from Bangkok, where she was moved to at the end of last month.
Ms Inglis’s parents Alison and Robert, alongside sister Stacey and childhood friend Khalid Gehlan, held a press conference in Edinburgh this week and spoke of their thanks to the thousands of fundraisers, without whom their daughter would not have survived.
“Every donation, every post shared, everyone of you has saved her life. She would not be here if it was not for you,” said Mrs Inglis.
The GoFundMe page set up by Khalid Gehlan raised more £300,000 and was vital in getting her the medical care she needed, as well as paying for transport costs.
