Young mum Ruby Flanagan suffered life-changing injuries after she was hit by a car while crossing the road at a local retail park.

Ruby, 25, was taken to the Major Trauma Centre (MTC) at Aintree University Hospital due to the severity of her injuries. She had emergency surgery to amputate her right leg and have her pelvis and left leg reconstructed. She was in hospital for 13 weeks and has had 10 operations.

Within days of Ruby being admitted to hospital, she met our Caseworker Berenice on the ward, who was able to provide her with much-needed support and advice that went beyond the wonderful care of the NHS staff.

Thanks to Berenice, Ruby and her family received emotional support, advice on benefits which she was entitled to, and signposted to other services, including legal advice.

Ruby’s son Leon was only six months old at the time of the incident.

Ruby said: “The first few weeks were a blur. Berenice was one of the first people I remember meeting. She saw me twice a week and supported me emotionally. She was someone to speak to. And someone to offload to, that wasn’t a family member or friend. She was also a great support for my mum as she also had so many questions and often needed to offload. Any questions we had – Berenice either had the answers or could point us in the right direction.

“She helped me with forms such as my PIP (Personal Independence Payment) application. The last thing I wanted to be doing was filling out forms. She was amazing and there for me from day one.

“Initially I had to process losing a leg and not knowing if I was going to lose the other leg. I ended up with a stabilising cage. My focus was very much on my physical health and recovery. I didn’t even consider the financial implications or know anything about benefits.

“Day One and Berenice were also able to advise me about possible legal support I may need. I didn’t want to research myself, so having access to a legal panel was great so I could choose a firm. The legal support has been amazing. They supported me and pointed me in the right direction. Thanks to them I was given a case manager who organised by rehabilitation at STEPS, a dedicated residential facility in Sheffield.

“Without Day One, my rehab would have been totally different. I don’t know what I would have done or how far along my recovery journey I’d be. I am so grateful to Berenice and Day One for all of their help and support. They’ve allowed me to access the best support so I can now focus on what’s important to me. I just want to be a mum.”

In June 2022 Ruby returned to Aintree University Hospital to meet many of the staff who were involved with her care as part of 10-year celebrations of the MTC. Read the full story here.