A NORTH prosecutor has spoken for the first time about her remarkable recovery from critical injuries following a head-on smash.
Inverness area procurator fiscal Emma Knox spent three days in a coma following the crash on the A862 Inverness-Beauly road in December last year.
She sustained serious skull, neck and rib fractures, as well as brain and nerve damage, and was paralysed from the neck down.
But after learning how to walk again, she is now determined to mark her fight back to health by walking unaided across the Kessock Bridge next year to raise money for a local charity.
Mrs Knox, 45, of Kirkhill, admitted causing the crash by dangerous driving in a court case earlier this year.
She was driving to her office in Inverness when the collision happened at Lentran.
She collided head-on with an oncoming van and had to be cut out of her wrecked car. The van driver was also freed by firefighters and suffered a broken back. He later made a full recovery.
Despite all the challenges ahead of her, the mother-of-two is determined to recover and get back to work.
Mrs Knox, who was born at Elgin, got the top prosecution job in Inverness in 2009.
While she has progressed from a wheelchair, she still uses a stick and must wear an eyepatch or special glasses because of double vision.
She also suffers partial paralysis on her left side and has damaged vocal cords.
Mrs Knox has credited her husband, David, parents, close friends and the supportive village community with helping her recover and she hopes to return to work within a few months.
The lawyer said: “I am ready to get back to work and very keen to do so as soon as possible. I have been exploring various options and hope that I will be back working by the end of the year.”
She said: “Thankfully I don’t remember much about the first few weeks in the hospital. I know I was always determined I would recover and that I would get home to my family.
“When I first got home from hospital in March, I was determined to walk again and I needed something to motivate me and keep me occupied. I was keen to contribute something to charity and I was looking for a challenge that would be difficult enough to make me work hard but also achievable.
“I had seen paraplegic Claire Lomas complete the London Marathon in 16 days using a robotic suit. I figured: if Claire Lomas can do the London Marathon, there must be something I can do.”
Inspired by a charity walk across the Humber Bridge, she chose a landmark nearer to home and aims to cross the Kessock Bridge on Sunday, March 30, as this marks one year since she returned home from hospital.
As part of her training for the charity effort, Mrs Knox made her first attempt last week to walk without a stick. Despite saying she looked like “a wee drunk man with rickets”, it was a success. She has also taken up horse riding.
Mrs Knox is raising money for brain-injury charity Headway Highland and Cantraybridge College, which helps young people with disabilities.
Her initial target was £1,000 – to be split between the charities – and so far she has raised more than £750.
Mrs Knox said: “It would be totally fantastic if I can exceed my target, and I am beginning to think that’s possible.”