Hollie Snell was not expected to survive severe head injuries suffered in a car crash but her family says the teen continues her astonishing fightback. Photo / Supplied
Hollie Snell was not expected to survive severe head injuries suffered in a car crash but her family says the teen continues her astonishing fightback. Photo / Supplied
Hollie is a survivor
My gut feeling was right, Hollie Snell (News, December 11) is a survivor just like I was.
Her journey has just started. Her life will never be the same again, and the sooner she can separate the two the better so she can put herfull focus on getting back to so-called normal. And believe me, it's a challenge.
She will need the love of her family to carry on this fight, and a safe place away from the public eye and misconceptions once she gets out of hospital.
From someone who has been through that journey and come out the other end, it is well worth the hard yards to get your life back on track, and I can look back with satisfaction that I won the challenge.
The major problem with the increasing violence in New Zealand is not with the apprehension of the criminals - yes, that is what they are - it is with the justice system.
It is difficult to believe the sentences handed out by the courts here, they are so lenient it is almost as if the perpetrators use crime to get a brief holiday, either at her Majesty's pleasure or in their own homes.
If we are serious about stamping out domestic or any other kind of violent crime in New Zealand, then we have to wake the courts up. (Abridged)
