Keep your feet on the floor in a Car

Hi all. As some of the older members might be aware from one of my 60 second presentations this time last year, I was involved in a serious car accident 4 years ago. My girlfriend Gráinne was in the jeep with me and was seriously injured after we hit a patch of black ice without warning and made friends with a stone wall. I probably should have been killed, but somehow walked away with cuts and bruises. She’s still recovering to this day and considering the weather we’ve had recently and are due to have in the coming weeks or so, I thought it might serve as a timely warning to people. She should have walked away uninjured too, but one simple decision pretty much changed her life. She’s only feeling up to telling her story now so below are a few words she hopes might help people in some way...


I am sending this email to try and warn people. I really hope you will read it and pass it on.  Trust me......it is important!

This is my story.....
When I was 22 my life was turned upside down. An accident changed my life forever and I am now ready to tell the world about it and hopefully in the process it might help anyone who might be like me! My name is Grainne Kealy and I am now nearly 27 years of age. Early on the morning of the 17th of December 2006 my boyfriend and I left our home in Galway for my home place in Laois. Going through Borris-in-Ossary the jeep skidded on a patch of black ice and crashed into a wall. As accidents go it was a pretty bad one. The jeep was destroyed, but fortunately there were no other vehicles involved. My boyfriend got out with minor injuries thank god but he has all the memories! It is thanks to him and my family that I can tell you this story.

You see I had decided along the way that I would be more comfortable if my feet were on the dashboard. It was something I rarely did and only did it that morning as I had bought a new pair of Ugg boots and knew that I wouldn't dirty the dashboard... silly when you think about it! By doing this my feet were placed directly on top of the airbag without realising. When the jeep collided with the wall the airbags inflated as they do... but because my feet were on top of my airbag it actually forced my knees and legs back in to my face. I didn't know much about how airbags work so here's some information I have learned to better help you understand how dangerous it is......The airbag system ignites a solid propellant, which burns extremely rapidly to create a large volume of gas to inflate the bag. The bag then literally bursts from its storage site at up to 200 mph (322 kph) -- faster than the blink of an eye! A second later, the gas quickly dissipates through tiny holes in the bag, thus deflating the bag so you can move.

So there you go.......now you get it. I kneed myself in the face at 200mph! Sounds a lot worse now doesn't it. To be honest it couldn't have gotten much worse. I was awake at the accident site but that quickly changed on the way to Portlaoise Hospital when they had to pull the Ambulance over as I was having the first of four brain seizures. It all went downhill from there and they even had to have me anointed. After many hours of amazing work from the doctors, nurses and other hospital staff, they finally got me stabilised and on to a ventilator. They then ran tests to see what damage had been done.

I had really done a job on myself. I had multiple facial fractures (my mother was told that I had broken every bone in my face), a CSF (Cerebrospinal Fluid) leak from my brain and oh yeah I lost two teeth! After a brief stint in Galway's High Dependency Unit (where my injuries were described as some of the worst they'd ever seen from a Road Accident), I was eventually moved to Beaumont Hospital under the care of my brain surgeon and the Max Fax (Maxillofacial) team. They told me that I had pushed in and up my face and they would have to basically pull it all out and put it back together! Sounds nice huh!! I had my first major operation on the 28th of December 2006 and on that day my family and boyfriend had to wait nearly ten hours to see me be wheeled back up the corridor to the High Dependency Unit. My recovery has been very tough and because of complications in May 2007. I am still recovering. I am also recovering from a slight brain injury but thanks to the people at A.B.I Ireland I am well on my way to being ME again! It has been a long long road for me but also for my family and boyfriend. I have no memory of the accident, the three months leading up to it or the month following it. Well I have a few little memories from my time in Beaumont but not much. One of my first memories is looking in the mirror for the first time. I didn't recognise the face looking back at me. That is one of the worse memories I have and one that I hope with all my heart few will ever have to go through.

My family and my boyfriend have been to hell and back because of me putting my feet on the dashboard. I do sometimes wish I had been warned about the dangers of it like I am warning you but I am now the type of person who likes to believe that things happen for a reason.

I have been waiting for years to be able to tell people my story but I was never strong enough to open up about such a heartbreaking experience. I am sharing my story now because I can't stand the thought of another person having to go through what I have had to go through. I would hate for another person's family to have to get that dreaded phone call as mine did! I have always said to my Mother.......I got the pain but they got the memories. I see passengers with their feet on the dashboard a lot of the time and it breaks my heart. I'm hoping you will pass on this message / warning to everyone you know and hopefully people will understand how dangerous it is.

PLEASE KEEP YOUR FEET ON THE FLOOR IN A VEHICLE........FRONT AND BACK PASSENGERS!!

One of the worst parts about it is that it seems so obvious when you think about it. So please listen to me and learn from my horrible experience.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story. I can only hope with all my heart that you won't ever have to go through what myself and my loved ones have had to go through.


Please pass this on to as many people as you can.  Help me tell my story so something good can come out of such a bad experience!

Grainne