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Alton Towers amputee Leah Washington 'recovering well' | Alton Towers amputee Leah Washington 'recovering well' |
(35 minutes later) | |
A girl whose leg was amputated after a rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers is recovering well and has stood up for the first time, her brother said. | A girl whose leg was amputated after a rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers is recovering well and has stood up for the first time, her brother said. |
Leah Washington, 17, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was one of five people who suffered severe injuries on the Smiler ride on 2 June. | Leah Washington, 17, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was one of five people who suffered severe injuries on the Smiler ride on 2 June. |
Her brother Luke said she had initially been put in intensive care and relied on machines to help her breathe. | Her brother Luke said she had initially been put in intensive care and relied on machines to help her breathe. |
He said the effects of the crash had "not been easy on the family". | He said the effects of the crash had "not been easy on the family". |
'Dramatically improved' | 'Dramatically improved' |
Ms Washington's leg was amputated above the left knee and she also suffered a fractured left hand. | Ms Washington's leg was amputated above the left knee and she also suffered a fractured left hand. |
Her brother said her "health and spirits had improved dramatically". | Her brother said her "health and spirits had improved dramatically". |
"She was heavily sedated. She was in intensive care and the machines were keeping her going." | "She was heavily sedated. She was in intensive care and the machines were keeping her going." |
"Yesterday I walked into the room and she was standing up. It was great," Mr Washington told BBC WM. | |
He said compared to last week, when she was taken to hospital for the first time, "it's a world of difference". | |
"She was heavily sedated. She was in intensive care and the machines were keeping her going." | |
Ms Washington and three other people were on the front row of a carriage on the ride which hit an empty one, trapping 16 passengers for up to four-and-a-half hours. | |
All four on the front row suffered severe leg injuries. | |
Mr Washington said a day after the crash his sister was breathing on her own and had made a "rapid recovery.". | |
"Each day has gone by and she's improved and improved. | |
"I don't know where she's got her strength from," he said. | |
Crash investigation | |
Her boyfriend Joe Pugh is also at the Royal Stoke University Hospital and being treated for two broken knees and "extensive" hand injuries. | |
Vicky Balch, 20, from Leyland in Lancashire, has undergone surgery at the same hospital and is in a "serious but stable" condition, according to her family. | |
Daniel Thorpe, 27, from Buxton, Derbyshire, was treated at University Hospital Coventry for a collapsed lung and a fractured leg. His condition is described as "serious but stable". | |
Chanda Chauhan, 49, from Wednesbury in the Black Country, who was sitting in the second row of the Smiler, was admitted to Walsall Manor Hospital with internal injuries. | |
A Health and Safety Executive investigation into the crash is ongoing. | |
Alton Towers reopened to visitors on Monday, although the Smiler ride itself remains closed. | |
Merlin Entertainment, which owns the theme park, said it was the first accident in the company's history and said anyone injured would be compensated. |