Redefining Life
“My biggest stroke of luck was surviving when many people had given up on me.”
Iza Amade, 21, from Beau Vallon, was given a ‘death sentence’ after a horrific motorbike accident. Doctors in Seychelles told Iza’s parents that there was nothing they could do to save her life and they should accept that their daughter was going to die. In a twist of fate, Iza is still alive and living every day, knowing she was given a second chance at life because of her mother’s strength and not giving up on her.
When you are faced with losing your life, it’s usually a big wake-up call. It’s enough to kick start looking at life through a different lens—this is what Iza is doing, and this is her story.
Life before the accident
Iza grew up at Beau Vallon, where she attended Secondary school, after which she joined the School of Advanced Level Studies. She described herself as a fun person and had many friends. She had plans to be a journalist and worked as hard as possible at school.
” After my A’levels, I got accepted at Middlesex University, Dubai Campus, to study journalism. I was so excited about my future; little did I know that my life and plans were about to change.”
The Accident
On February 25, 2022, Iza went to a party with her friends. She and her ex-boyfriend left the party just before 11 p.m. What happened next, Iza has no recollection of.
” I was a passenger on the motorcycle when another motorcycle crashed into us. I do not remember anything that happened that night, but I was told that I cracked my skull on a wall when I flew off the motorbike due to the impact of the hit. Although I was wearing a helmet, I was badly hurt. This is what I have been told to this day as I have no recollection of the accident as I suffered a traumatic brain injury.”
As a result of the accident, Iza was in a coma for three months with a severe brain injury and other life-changing injuries to her legs and arms. She also lost five of her teeth.
“The doctors in Seychelles gave up on me and told my family that I would not survive. I was admitted to the ICU in a coma. I stayed there for three weeks before I was moved to the ward, still comatose. Whilst on the ward, I developed a high fever, which baffled the doctors as no intravenous antibiotics administered were helping. My mother begged the doctors to send me overseas for treatment. They refused and told my mother that they couldn’t send someone who would probably die for overseas medical treatment.”
The Strength and Faith of a Mother
Iza’s parents were hurt and disappointed that their request for overseas treatment was denied, but her mother, Celine Baccus, refused to give up on her. Even though the accident was brutal on them as a family, Celine decided that they were going to do anything to give Iza a chance.
“If the Ministry of Health was not going to help, my mother was determined that she was going to get me overseas even if I was in a coma. My mother took matters into her own hands; after gathering as much funds as she could from family and friends, she decided to take me to Reunion Island with the hope that I would get help there. She never lost her faith; it became her strength.
“The pilot was reluctant to fly with a comatose patient on board, but my mother said that she would sign documents that stated she was aware of the risk. Her reasoning was that she had been told that I was going to die anyway, so whether I died in a hospital or on a plane would make no difference. She took me to Reunion because she believed I would survive it all.”
In Reunion, at the Roland Garros airport, Iza and her family were met by an ambulance and transported to Le CHE hospital, where Iza would receive treatment for a bacterial infection and wounds on her legs and arm.
“I stayed in Reunion for two months before I was flown back to Seychelles, still in a coma. Upon my return, I was sent to North East Point Hospice, where a lot of patients spend their final moments. Again, doctors believed that they had done all they could.”
A Second Chance at Life
On the 4th day at the hospice, four days before her 20th birthday, Iza woke up. Understandably, she was confused and overwhelmed by the happiness of the people around her. She couldn’t remember anything about her life in the two weeks prior to the accident or the accident. Her family had to help her put the pieces together.
“With a lot of therapy, both physical and mental and the amazing support of the staff at the North East Point hospice, I was discharged a couple of weeks later. I still couldn’t walk, and I had to use a wheelchair due to the contracture in my leg. My tendons had shortened, something very common for patients with traumatic brain injury. My mother still believed that there was hope for me. In November, nine months after my accident, she took me to Chennai Hospital in India, where I had surgeries to straighten my leg contracture to help me walk again. I stayed in India for seven weeks. When I returned home, I continued my physical therapy.”
Life after the accident
Iza is still on the road to recovery. She still has problems with her balance, and she has speech and voice impairment due to intubation when she was hospitalised. She sometimes has short memory loss, which is improving with time. She is determined to get her life’s plan back on track, but she is grateful for the life she has now.
“After the accident, I found out who my real friends were. Before the accident, I had so many friends. I was always out doing things and socialising with friends, but when I needed them the most, when I was down, many were nowhere to be seen. My family has always been by my side, and my few true friends stuck around and cheered me on.
“I am now enjoying life more, and I am so thankful for all the people in my life. I am genuinely happier than I was before the accident. As a family, my accident brought us closer. The recovery is not easy, but I get a lot of support from my family, friends and employer. People often take life for granted, but I live every day knowing that I have been given a second chance at life because my family didn’t lose faith when so many people had discounted me.
“And I would like to say this: please do not take your life for granted. We have one life; we have hopes and dreams. I’m begging you not to be reckless with your life. Do not drive when intoxicated. Recklessness almost ended my life. I am lucky when many hadn’t.”
Iza has a lot going for her, she is back working in journalism and if all goes well, she hope to take up her place at the university of Essex in Dubai this year.
