Woman who almost misplaced foot in Bali crash says ‘I just thought I needed plaster’
A woman who nearly lost her foot in a Bali moped accident after the crash left her bone exposed said she ‘just thought she needed a plaster’.
Angel Willows, 28, was riding on a moped with her cousin around the tourist hotspot in her flipflops when they hit a pothole and crashed.
Her foot became impaled on the metal moped side stand, with shocking photos showing how the accident left the bones in her left foot exposed – which doctors said had become so infected she was lucky they could save it.
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She said: “To be honest I didn’t realise how bad it was until I got to Australia. I just thought I’d be in and out with more stitches but it was much worse than I originally thought.
(Image: Angel Willows / SWNS)
“It was scary when they said I could have lost my foot because of how bad the infection was. They said it was really badly infected.
“I was in shock, I thought I just needed a plaster initially.”
Angel, from Guildford, Surrey, had been rushed to a local hospital but claims her cousin – who is a nurse – had to inform hospital staff the wound needed washing before being stitched up.
She was given stitches but claims they weren’t done properly and her foot continued to bleed heavily – before starting to turn yellow. After she had it redressed by a chemist, her cousin suggested she go to Australia to be seen – where they still had days left on their visa.
After landing in Sydney, Australia three days after the accident, doctors told Angel her foot was badly infected and she could have lost it due to the poor stitches. She had to undergo three wash-out surgeries to clean the wound while doctors waited to see if it would start to heal.
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
(Image: Angel Willows / SWNS)
Angel from Guildford, Surrey, said: “When I got to Australia, they told me how bad it was. It just didn’t stop bleeding after they stitched it up – I had to have my foot just over a bucket whilst it filled up with blood. It was turning a horrible colour.
“[The doctors] said I was lucky I got there when I did.”
The wound continued to worsen – with her skin turning black and yellow – and doctors were forced to remove all the dying skin before taking skin tissue from Angel’s groin in a skin flap surgery.
After a month in hospital, Angel was discharged and is recovering in Australia – and has vowed to only wear trainers on bikes from now on.
(Image: Angel Willows / SWNS)
She said: “After I woke up I needed a boot to learn to walk again, which took a couple of months. I’ve got what kind of looks like a big birthmark on top of my foot now – it’s just part of my story.”
Though she has since been on a motorbike, she says she’ll be staying well clear of the flip-flops. She said: “I’ve been super cautious when riding them now – always trainers.
“If I had trainers on I certainly don’t think it would have been as bad.”
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