Imagine being wheeled into an operating theatre in a foreign country, groggy, confused and in lots of pain.
The surgeon informs you he is going to screw a metal plate into your shattered left femur and realign your fractured right wrist.
‘Lucky me’ would not be the first phrase to enter most people’s minds. But that is exactly what 19-year-old Cullingworth cyclist Hannah Mayho admits to thinking to herself as she lay battered and bruised, hours after being involved in an horrific multiple crash in Belgium last month that nearly cost her her life.
“My first thought after the accident was that I was lucky to be alive,” said Olympic hopeful Hannah, who recalled the shocking moment she and four of her Great Britain colleagues collided with a car as it pulled out of a junction while on a training ride in Oudenaarde.
“The policeman at the scene said if I hadn’t been wearing a helmet I would almost certainly have died. It was all cracked when he took it off me.
“It just shows how important wearing a helmet is. They really do save lives.”
The sheer relief of knowing she had escaped relatively lightly from an impact which could have killed her pushed concerns about her cycling career to the back of her mind while she occupied herself with thoughts of family and friends.
But as the emotional fog cleared, and as the unpleasant nature of the surgery was being explained to her, the realisation broke through that she may never ride again.
“The surgeon made an incision into the top of my leg by the hip, cutting it open to expose the femur,” said Hannah. “They drilled into the femur and inserted a metal plate down into the bottom of the leg and then screwed two nails into the top of my leg and two at the bottom.
“My thoughts turned to how my injuries would affect me long-term and if I would still have a career.
“Fortunately, the operation was a success and they told me it is not career-threatening and there will be no long-term damage, which is excellent news.
“There was more good news in that, at first, they thought I had broken both my legs in the accident, but fortunately that wasn’t the case.”
No wonder Hannah is keen to thank her helmet sponsor, Giro, and send a message out to all cyclists of the importance of wearing protective headgear at all times.
While Hannah’s injuries were the most serious, her four colleagues were also taken to hospital.
Lucy Martin suffered a crushed vertebra, Katie Colclough needed treatment for concussion and Emma Trott broke a collarbone and was knocked out in the impact. Sarah Reynolds, who escaped with grazes to her hand and a split chin, found herself with the job of comforting her friends and offering emotional support until the ambulance arrived.
The five, who were all wearing full Great Britain team kit at the time of the accident, were descending between Oudenaarde and Brakel when a car pulled out in front of them. They were travelling at around 30mph.
Hannah was at the front of the group and hit first, then Colclough, while Trott rode into the side of the car and was knocked unconscious.
Trott said: “I don’t remember hitting the car, I don’t remember landing on the floor... I barely remember getting into the ambulance. I just don’t remember a lot.”
The accident happened on the morning of Friday, May 7. Hannah’s parents joined her in Belgium the following day but it was several more days before she was allowed to fly back to Bradford.
Since arriving home, Hannah has continued to make fast progress and she could be back on her bike in a matter of weeks.
“It’s going well. There have been ups and downs but it has been positive news from the lower limb specialist I am seeing at Wigan’s Wrightington hospital.
“He says, because of my good level of fitness and young age, that my recovery has been quick.
“I am having all the stitches out and the cast on my arm off on June 9. I’ll also have an X-ray and, if it shows the bone is healing, then I will be allowed to get on a static bike and go through the pedaling motion, but with no resistance. Three weeks after that, if the specialist is satisfied, I will be allowed to ride a bike on the road again.”
Hannah’s dedication has taken her to a myriad national junior and senior titles, while her physical and mental strength of character is perhaps best illustrated by her response to being asked if she will carry any mental scars from the accident.
“It’s just a setback and a risk you take in cycling. I’m looking at it as a two-month injury lay-off – which happens all the time in professional sport – and I certainly won’t be using it as an excuse.”
Indeed, her attention is already focused on October’s Commonwealth Games in India and, beyond that, the World Championships and 2012 Olympic Games in London, where she is hoping to compete in the team pursuit, after the individual pursuit category was dropped.
She said: “The crash won’t affect my plans for the Olympics at all. The Commonwealth Games may be a long shot but having them in the back of my mind will give me something to aim for when I begin training again.”
After finishing her A Levels in June 2009, Hannah devoted herself full-time to the sport, competing in road events in Holland and Belgium in the summer and autumn and then switching to the track in the winter.
She won three medals at the Great Britain National Track Championships in Manchester in 2009, competing against several of Britain’s Olympic medallists, and a silver medal at the European Cup in Barcelona in individual pursuit.
If she makes the Commonwealth Games squad for Delhi, she will compete in individual pursuit and road racing. But Hannah’s long-term ambition remains London in 2012, stating boldly: “I want to be Olympic champion, that’s what drives me.”
Equipped with such courage, unwavering dedication and natural talent, who are we to bet against Hannah achieving her life’s ambition and striking gold for Bradford?
