A mum who suffered life-changing injuries after being hit by a car has returned to the Major Trauma Centre that saved her life to unveil a revamped relatives' room made possible by Day One.

Ruby Doyle-Flanagan spent three months in Aintree University Hospital after emergency surgery to amputate her right leg and reconstruction of her pelvis and left leg when she was crushed between two cars in Wallasey in 2021.

During her stay in hospital, Ruby, her mum Edwina Doyle, and son Leon, who was only six months at the time, were supported by Day One Trauma Support. We work in partnership with NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group (UHLG) to provide major trauma patients and families with much-needed emotional, practical and financial support while at Aintree Major Trauma Centre.

On Friday 25 April 2025, Ruby, Edwina and Leon, now four, returned to the hospital, along with Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, to meet the staff who cared for her and to reveal the improved relatives' room that has been refurbished by Day One. The room, which had become tired and unwelcoming, now provides a quiet and supportive space for friends and family members visiting patients on the major trauma ward. Thanks to fundraising by hospital staff and patients, and donations from Irwin Mitchell and Leigh Day, we were able to provide a TV, furniture and wall art.

During Friday’s visit Mayor Rotheram also got to meet some of the life-saving staff who work at the Major Trauma Centre (MTC). Since opening in June 2012, more than 14,235 patients admitted via the Aintree Emergency Department received a ‘Trauma Team Activation’, with many more patients also receiving expert care from the highly experienced and specialist staff at both Trusts.

Ruby, who was a nurse at Arrowe Park Hospital in the Wirral, was one of the first patients at Aintree to be supported by Day One in Liverpool in 2021. As well as providing vital emotional support, Day One was able to signpost to legal support, which resulted in Ruby and Leon being transferred to STEPS Rehabilitation, a dedicated residential facility in Sheffield. Ruby, who is now back home in Wallasey, walks with a prosthetic leg and is looking forward to a positive future for her and Leon.

Last year Day One supported 169 people in Aintree, and more than 2,200 people nationally through our work in other MTCs, support line and website. We also gave out more than £8,700 in grants to Aintree patients and family members to help with costs such as accommodation so loved ones can remain near to the hospital.

We want to reach even more people and on Sunday 27 April we were featured in our first BBC Lifeline Appeal on BBC One. You can support the appeal until 18 May via bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002bkzn

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: "When someone suffers a major trauma, the road to recovery can be incredibly tough — not just for the patient, but for their family too. Having spaces like this revamped relatives room can make a real difference for people living through some of the hardest days of their lives. That’s why I’m proud to support Day One Trauma Support and the fantastic work they do alongside Ruby, whose strength, courage and determination are nothing short of inspiring."

Andrew Brasington, Services Manager at Day One Trauma Support, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Mayor Rotheram and Ruby for officially unveiling our refurbished relatives room at Aintree Major Trauma Centre, which we hope will give family members a more supportive space when visiting loved ones. It was great to see Ruby again and we’re glad we were able to play a part in her recovery. We’re thankful to all our supporters who made it possible and to Mayor Rotheram for his support and hope we can work together in the future to ensure major trauma survivors in the Liverpool city region get the support they need to help rebuild their lives again.”

Ruby Doyle-Flanagan, 28, of Wallasey, The Wirral, said: “Surviving being hit by the car was just the start for me and my family. I’m eternally grateful to everyone at Aintree Major Trauma Centre for saving my life but I had to process losing a leg and didn’t know if I would lose the other leg. The weeks in hospital were a blur and Leon was only six months old and needed his mum. My whole life had been turned upside down and it was too much for me to cope on my own. That’s why I’m so grateful to Day One for being there and supporting me throughout my recovery.

“It was emotional returning to the hospital again, but I now have so many friends who still work there and they are like an extended family to me.

“It was lovely to see the improved relatives room, as this space away from the ward is vital for family and friends during their visits. People often forget the impact major trauma has on the family which is why it was an honour to unveil this space as I know how much my mum valued the support from Day One too.”

Matt Garson, partner of Irwin Mitchell’s Liverpool office, said: “We are delighted to have helped towards the refurbishment of the relatives room at Aintree Major Trauma Centre and hope it will now provide a more comfortable space for people when visiting their loved ones. We’re proud to have supported and worked alongside Day One since their inception and can clearly see how the immediate support they offer positively affects patients' wellbeing and outlook after experiencing major traumatic injuries.”

Sally Moore, head of the personal injury team at Leigh Day, said: “We are very proud to partner with Day One Trauma Support in helping patients who have sustained often life-changing injury. We're pleased the project to refurbish the relatives room at Aintree Major Trauma Centre has been completed and we hope it plays a small part in helping families regroup in a comfortable space when supporting their loved ones following injury.”