A woman who lost her entire forehead in a car accident has issued a warning to all those who put their feet on the dashboard.
In 2007, Gráinne Kealy had her feet up on the dashboard while seated in the passenger seat of her boyfriend’s Jeep when black ice caused the vehicle to skid and crash into a wall at 120mph, per The Sun.
Despite the airbags deploying upon impact, the force of inflation pushed her feet violently towards her face, resulting in her knees slamming into it with severe force, causing extensive injuries.
“I broke every bone in my face,” Gráinne recalled in an interview with Fabulous.
“When I was rushed to the hospital, doctors had no choice but to remove my forehead. I had nothing in place of my forehead. My head sunk in and I looked a little strange.”
In addition to multiple facial fractures, Gráinne suffered from a cerebrospinal fluid leak from her brain, necessitating treatment from a neurosurgeon.
“They told me that I had pushed in and up my face and they would have to basically pull it all out and put it back together,” she recounted.
Following successful surgery, Grainne faced complications a year later, requiring further medical attention.
It wasn’t until 2009 that she received a custom-made ‘new forehead’ crafted from Italian ceramic.
Now, more than a decade after the life-altering crash, Gráinne has completed her plastic surgery treatments and reports that her doctors are pleased with her progress.
However, she continues to grapple with the enduring effects of the traumatic brain injury she sustained, per the Mirror.
“I constantly lose words while in the middle of a conversation. This can happen to me 20 times a day,” Gráinne shared.
“I get headaches when too many people are talking around and I sometimes find it difficult to stay focused.”
Since the accident, Gráinne has become an advocate, using her harrowing experience to warn others about the dangers of placing feet on the dashboard while traveling in a car.
In a Facebook post once again sharing her story, she wrote: “I sent out an email a few years ago in the hope of preventing anyone from going through what I have had to go through.
“The sad truth is that I know the message hasn’t reached far enough. The more people I talk to about what happened to me the more I realise I have to do more…….so I am asking you all to please pass it on.”
In the post, she shared photos of her injuries.
Gráinne is disheartened by stars sharing images on social media with their feet raised while in the passenger seat.
In a Facebook post, Gráinne shared images of celebrities like Selena Gomez, Kim Kardashian, and Hailey Baldwin, showing them with their feet close to the windshield while being driven.
She expressed concern to Sky News about celebrities posting such images to “millions and millions of people.”
She stated: “I can’t compete with that but I still feel like I have to try.”
“It breaks my heart to think of anyone having to go through the hell myself and my family have had to go through,” Gráinne added. “If it takes me sharing my story and my photos, as scary as they are, then so be it.”