Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter

Two months after being hospitalised from injuries received when the large swing bridge linking Broadgate and Mahoe Hill in St. Mary collapsed, 22-year-old Ann Marie Reid was released from hospital yesterday.

Ms. Reid was released after undergoing several operations on her head, leg and arm. She now has a large bump on the right side of her head and a broken leg, from which a cast was recently removed.

Happy to be alive

But while she cannot walk and is suffering from memory loss, the petite mother of one is happy she is alive today.

"A God save my life," she told The Gleanerfrom her hospital bed at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), hours before she was discharged. "When I was admitted, the doctors said I had a 50/50 chance of living. I couldn't talk or even know anyone around me. What you are seeing now is a miracle."

Ann Marie vaguely remembers what took place on Sunday, February 11, when the 40-year-old bridge collapsed.

"I remember crossing the bridge with my three-year-old daughter and I just hear 'Bow!' then nothing else, just darkness," she said.

Ann Marie was one of 19 persons on the bridge when it suddenly collapsed into the Wag Water River below. The residents were said to have been returning from a football match.

Ann Marie is also thanking God for saving the life of her daughter.

"I remember her saying to me that she didn't want to stay with me and she let go of my hands and ran ahead to hold on to her uncle. I was at the back so when the bridge collapsed she fell into the water and I fell on the ground. My leg and arms were broken," she said.

Her road to recovery has been a long one. While the other residents were released from the hospital earlier she was just being discharged yesterday.

"I bawl morning, evening, noon and night because of pain," she said of her recovery. "The doctors said I will walk again but it will take a while."

Financial concerns

While happy to be alive, she is worried about how she will manage financially as she is unable to work until she is fully recovered. So far, she has chalked up hospital bills amounting to more than $85,000.

"I will need help. My father is not working and my baby father is a bus driver. What he is earning is not much and I have to do follow-up visit to the doctor and therapist. I have to trust in the Lord that he will provide," she said.

Public Defender Earl Witter said he would be submitting claims within weeks for the other persons who were injured in the accident. He said Ann Marie's submission would have to be done at a later date, after her medical expenses and injuries werefurther evaluated.

dionne.rose@yahoo.com