Initially Madeleine was diagnosed with whiplash but her pain levels were extreme and she was constantly back and forward with her doctor adjusting pain relief regimes and reducing her work hours. Finally, at work one morning she lost feeling in her arms and legs so was rushed to the doctors and ordered to basically lie on the couch - no work, no driving, no walking anywhere, no physio and of course no horse riding. She was referred to a neck and spine surgeon who ordered an MRI scan.

There was a very real risk that something far more serious than just whiplash had been missed hence the extreme caution imposed by the doctors. Thankfully we now have the results of all the tests and know that she will recover and that there will be no serious long term effects. A disk in her neck was damaged and it will take time to come right. She has another month off work and then they will reassess her to see if she can resume work part-time. The good news is she is allowed off the couch and can drive and walk short distances (long distances cause too much pain).

I have been attending her lectures and tutorials at Uni and taping them for her and taking notes so that she could maintain her law studies. She sat her first test of the year last night and is very sore today but she has done well to have kept up with her readings and with making herself sit through the taped lectures.

Her car was written off but the insurance payout was twice the agreed value so at least that was something. We are not sure if the police have charged the driver who caused the accident, I hope they have as the woman that hit her never even came to check Madeleine was ok, Madeleine never even saw her face. Apparently she just got on her cell phone and stayed by her car! It was passers by and the people in the car in front of her that came to her aid. Even when the ambulance officers took her out of the car the driver at fault kept away.

Our lives have been turned upside down, Madeleine has been in awful pain and has to live on pain drugs, her career has been jeopardised (well not really as her employers are so amazingly supportive - but it will be hard for her to pick things up when she goes back as the nature of her job is very full on with lots of balls to juggle), her income is at 80% and a lot of her medical costs are not covered by ACC at all, her long awaited resumption of her LLB has been put at risk, she had to withdraw from the remainder of the equestrian events for the season and next season looks in doubt after winning her last start and this woman couldn't even say sorry or check she was ok.