She says a doctor and ambulance staff had real concerns about Mr Goodley's chances of survival and, if you look at photographs of the wrecked car, you can see why.
He certainly has endured a lot since May 4 - suffering brain injuries, shattered eye sockets, nose and femur, and multiple breaks to his arm. He also had to have a tracheotomy to help him breathe.
What an awful experience.
I was once involved in an accident and, looking back on it now, I was probably lucky to walk away with minor concussion. I was young - probably 24 - and driving through a rural area from one city to another in South Africa's Eastern Cape. It was late one night, but (before you ask) I had not been drinking and I was not racing. As I followed the gentle turn of the road, a small animal appeared out of nowhere. I saw it at the last moment and I did what I have now been told never to do for small animals - I swerved. The car spun off the road and, as soon as my right back tyre hit the gravel next to the tarseal, it burst. This caused the car to roll, I think it was twice, before coming to rest in a paddock next to the road. What saved me, and my passenger, was our seatbelts. We were slightly sore but none the worse for wear. The panelbeater said it was the cleanest roll he had ever seen.
I sometimes think about that accident, especially when I read about fatal car accidents. The phrase that comes to mind is: "There but for the grace of God, go I."
Richard Goodley is a brave man and the fighting spirit he has shown during this tough time is an example to us all. He has a long way to go but, going on the determination he has shown so far, I am hopeful he will have some normality back in his life at some stage.
He deserves it.
