A Nelson woman is learning how to walk again after a cycling crash earlier this year left her pelvis "shattered like glass" — injuries her orthopedic surgeon described as some of the worst he'd seen.
Angela Herbert, 50, has spent more than 100 days in hospital after she was struck by a van while cycling through a busy Nelson roundabout on February 8.
"I remember screaming in pain on the road, and then stopping after a while because I started to lose consciousness," Herbert told 1News.
She had suffered six pelvic fractures, including devastating damage to her left pelvis.
Doctors initially considered surgery, but the injuries were so severe that they could not operate. Months later, Herbert's orthopedic specialist described her injuries as the worst he had ever seen.
"I was told that my left pelvis resembled shattered glass, and then I was told not to run or walk," she said.
Scans later confirmed she would likely never run again — devastating news for the former distance runner, who previously trained up to 50km a week.
Herbert admitted dealing with that reality had been "very distressing".
"It's been very difficult to accept," she said.
"I have no idea when I'll walk again, or if I can run."
Before the accident, Herbert lived a busy life dedicated to helping others.
A former police officer, she worked as a kaiwhakaako and remote kaitiaki for Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, mentoring students in te reo Māori and tikanga Māori throughout the top of the South Island and West Coast.
She was also a medical herbalist, life coach, artist and active member of the Tribal Nations Motorcycle Club.
A long road to recovery
The journey to recovery since Herbert's crash had been far from straightforward.
Alongside her extensive pelvic injuries, she had developed functional neurological disorder (FND) — a condition affecting how the brain sends and receives signals throughout the body. The condition left her unable to move her left leg at all.
"I'm having to drag my leg along with a band on a walker and support myself with my arm," she said. "I can only walk five to 10 steps, really."
She had also experienced PTSD, anxiety, hearing loss in her left ear and severe pain since the accident.
"It's all been very, very painful," she said.
Herbert's recovery was expected to take up to nine months, with hydrotherapy and rehabilitation now forming part of her daily routine.
"Normally in my line of work, I help a lot of clients with life coaching and overcoming big problems in their lives," she said.
"This is different. I feel like it's a lot easier helping others than trying to help myself."
'I will never be the same'
Herbert said she had been "blown away" by the volume of support from the Nelson community.
Friends, strangers and supporters had rallied around her through hospital visits, gifts and donations to a Givealittle page established to help with her recovery.
One of the brightest moments of her recovery journey was when her beloved cat Chippy came to visit her in the hospital.
"He's like my emotional support animal, helping me with the anxiety and the PTSD," Herbet said.
"He's been missing me. We seem to have a lovely connection."
She said the kindness shown by others, much of it from people she'd never met, had helped carry her through some of her darkest days.
"Someone even came in and did my nails, which was lovely. I've never had my nails done," she said.
"The support from the Nelson community has been amazing."
For now, Herbert was focused on taking things one day at a time amid so much uncertainty surrounding her future.
"When something like this happens in life, it does change you," she said.
"I will never be the same as before. There's so much unknown ahead. But I just have to have hope and faith for the future."
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