‘Halo of blood’: How a Brisbane cyclist defied the odds after horror skip bin crash

After a freak cycling accident single mother Liz Drake was on the worst end of the coma scale. And her road to recovery led her on a new path.

A single mother who defied the odds after her bicycle struck a skip bin in 2015 has recounted her miracle survival.

Liz Drake, 49, was cycling along Braun St at Deagon in Brisbane’s north about 5am on December 16 when the horrific accident occurred.

Ms Drake said her heart rate immediately dropped from 135 beats per minute to just 41.

“I remember nothing (about the accident), which in some respects is probably a blessing in disguise,” she said.

But Ms Drake, who now has a hole the size of a 20c piece behind her ear, said there was about a 4 per cent chance of “having an outcome like I’ve had”.

Advance care paramedic Sam Little said Ms Drake sustained very severe isolated head injuries and was classified as GC3 (Glasgow Coma Scale level 3), the lowest possible score of consciousness, which is associated with an extremely high mortality rate.

Mr Little said Ms Drake was found lying face-down on the road with a “halo of blood” around her head.

“The temporal region is where a majority of the blunt force trauma was,” he said.

“With the amount of injuries (to the head) I was certain there was some sort of neck (injury) – there was effectively a degloving of the face.”

Mr Little said although Ms Drake’s vital signs were “fairly well intact”, the cerebral cortex which plays a key role in memory had been significantly impacted.

Critical care paramedic Julie Hughes said Ms Drake was “deeply unconscious” but if she had not been wearing a helmet she probably would have been killed instantly.

Miracle cyclist Liz Drake with paramedics Julie Hughes (left), Sam Little and Tracy Townsend. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“(Cyclists) are just so exposed on the roads,” she said.

Ms Drake was taken to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital where she spent eight hours in the operating theatre.

After 50 days, she was then taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital’s Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit where she was treated for post-traumatic amnesia.

Ms Drake said prior to the accident she was the acting senior director of the Service Needs and Planning Branch at Queensland Health.

“While I no longer had the capacity to resume my career at Queensland Health, during my rehabilitation I had enjoyed assisting in the classroom at my daughter’s school,” she said.

“In June this year I was employed by Education Queensland as a relief teacher aide at Kedron State High School.

“I work on a casual basis in the student support unit where I have an affinity with many of the students who have disabilities.”

Ms Drake still has some hemiplegia on the left side of her body along with short-term memory loss.

“While I achieve my goal of returning to work, because of my balance issues, I am not able to ride my bike or run again,” she said.

Ms Drake said she has become paranoid about the importance of people wearing helmets when riding bikes and scooters.

“I am in no doubt that my high level of fitness (as a triathlete who regularly trained and competed) and my helmet also assisted in saving my life,” she said.

“My helmet only has a small scuff mark on it because I think it took the full force of my head striking the pavement.”