STACEY Burton will have a lot to celebrate at her 17th birthday party on Saturday. Just three weeks ago she was lying in a coma, having suffered massive head injuries following a road accident.

Her parents kept a vigil by her bed for 14 days, praying for the recovery of their only child.

And when it looked as if she might survive they discussed modifications to their Shapwick home for the disabilities she would surely have.

But Stacey can walk, talk, see, hear - and she can certainly smile.

"We were told 'It's minute by minute as to what happens to her' and it was like that for 10 days," said her mum, Caroline.

"It was just like a roller coaster. They made it very clear that she was in a very, very bad way.

"One doctor said if she did pull through and she came out of it with nothing wrong he would be extremely surprised."

Thankfully he was wrong.

The Queen Elizabeth schoolgirl was involved in a collision with a car on the A354 road at Cashmoor on April 7.

As she lay in the road, a passing doctor and paramedics stopped to help and the air ambulance got her to Salisbury hospital in seven minutes. Then came the long road journey to Southampton where she was in neurological intensive care.

"We were constantly by her bedside," said her dad Paul.

At one stage Stacey was rushed into theatre and a large bone flap from her skull was removed.

But when she was taken off a revolutionary cooling machine - vital to her recovery - she made rapid progress.

Instead of the six month hospital stay predicted, she is back home.

Her balance could be better, she is very anxious in a car and she faces a further op to put the bone flap back.

But she feels fine and may go back to school in September.

Stacey's parents want to say a lot of thank yous - to the anonymous doctor and paramedics, to the air ambulance, to the manager of the Inn on the Chase, Poole Pirates and most of all the Wessex Neurological Unit at Southampton.

First published: May 25