Stacie Chanoff vows to return to nursing after Bells Bridge crash left her a quadriplegic
A Bundaberg woman who was left a quadriplegic after a horror car crash where she was trapped for 90 minutes has ambitions to return to nursing and to care for other people.
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Bundaberg woman Stacie Chanoff was left a quadriplegic after a horror car crash where she was trapped for an hour and a half, but the registered nurse has just one wish — to be able to return to the job she loves.
But to regain her independence two years after the fateful accident, Ms Chanoff needs financial help, and is hoping the community will pitch in for a modified car so she can get around.
Ms Chanoff and her partner Jaidon Kirby were driving from Bundaberg to Brisbane to catch a flight on May 4, 2023, when disaster struck on the Bruce Highway at Bells Bridge near Gympie.
Conditions were foggy and at 3.30am, with Ms Chanoff behind the wheel, the car crashed through a roundabout before rolling over.
“I actually didn’t remember the crash. Apparently I had said to my partner, I feel like I can’t breathe,” she said.
“My legs were stuck under the steering wheel, and my head was down on the ground, like passing out the window.
“I was really fortunate my partner was picking some music at the time of the crash, so he actually still had his mobile phone in his hand and was able to call for help.”
The pair were stuck in the vehicle for 90 minutes before firefighters were able to cut them out of the wreckage. Paramedics then rushed them to hospital, with Ms Chanoff ultimately flown to Brisbane with severe spinal injuries requiring emergency surgery.
She was in a coma for nearly two weeks and placed on life support.
When she woke, her world had changed completely.
Ten fractures in her spine and a spinal cord injury that rendered her a quadriplegic. The paralysis affected even her ability to cough or sneeze.
After almost 10 months in hospital, Ms Chanoff was discharged to disability accommodation in Wynnum, where she is provided with specialist care, while still being able to live with Mr Kirby.
“I’m still working very hard at my rehab, I go to the gym, I’ve got physios and physiologists, so many people involved,” she said.
Ms Chanoff also has plans to return to nursing and has kept her registration through additional education.
“I am ready to return to work,” she said.
“Being able to go back to what I’d studied for, worked so hard for, and to get back to helping people would mean the world to me.”
To be able to return to work, Ms Chanoff needs to buy a modern car that is able to be modified to suit her needs.
A GoFundMe fundraiser has been launched to help Ms Chanoff buy a modified vehicle so she can re-gain her independence and return to nursing.
The fundraiser can be found here.
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Originally published as Stacie Chanoff vows to return to nursing after Bells Bridge crash left her a quadriplegic
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