A beautician has detailed the agonising pain she felt when her arm was crushed by a truck in Bali, saying she is “incredibly lucky” to be alive.
Charlene Morrissey was on her way to a camping trip on the Indonesian island when her motorcycle wobbled and fell into an oncoming truck on July 21.
The 33-year-old had sold her business and flown to Bali in January, where she met her partner Kenny Wood, but the freak accident turned her dream life into a nightmare.
Recalling the harrowing experience, Charlene, from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, said: STV News‘It crushed my hand completely. I pulled my arm out and all the skin and fat came off. It ripped everything off down to the bone.
“I was lying on the side of the road for 40 minutes screaming.”
Charlene Morrisey (pictured) told STV of the agonising pain she felt when her arm was crushed by a truck in Bali on 21 July 2024.
A fundraiser was organised to provide Charlene (pictured) with the treatment she needed to save her arm.
Although Kenny rushed to her side, Charlene begged him to let her die as she bled to death on the side of the road for six hours.
She recalled how her fingers “were all in different positions” and she “was trying to put them back in place.”
Charlene even used a rope from her camping gear to secure the skin that was falling off her arm.
“I didn’t know pain like that existed,” she said. “It’s something that will never leave me. I don’t even know if I’ll ever have the words to describe it.”
An ambulance eventually arrived and Charlene was taken to a local hospital with her mangled arm covered only by a muslin cloth.
But doctors were unable to treat her there and she was rushed to a BIMC hospital.
Charlene received multiple blood transfusions as doctors battled to save her life. Her bones were shattered from her hand down.
But the hospital suspended treatment after learning that her travel insurance company would not pay the exorbitant medical bills due to two previous claims.
His worried family turned to GoFundMe in a desperate attempt to raise vital funds.
In just three days, more than £100,000 was raised for Charlene’s treatment. Without that amount, her arm would probably have been amputated entirely.
Charlene (pictured in hospital) received multiple blood transfusions as doctors battled to save her arm, but stopped treatment after learning her travel insurance company would not pay the medical bills.
Charlene (pictured) moved to Bali in January 2024 after selling her business.
His partner Kenny described the money as “absolutely critical to his survival.”
While she was grateful to those who donated, Charlene believes the skin and fat on her arm could have been saved if doctors had performed the surgery on the first day she was admitted to the hospital, rather than waiting until funds came through three days later.
After surgery, Charlene remained in the hospital, where doctors gave her a variety of high-potency painkillers and water drips for two weeks.
The health influencer lost six and a half pounds during this desperate time and felt her body shut down.
Charlene was then airlifted to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where staff were confused about the strange combination of medications she was taking, including diabetes drugs and different antibiotics.
Now, eight weeks after that terrifying ordeal, Charlene is undergoing painful physical therapy sessions that often leave her in tears.
He performs agonizing exercises every hour in hopes of regaining strength in his hand.
Charlene (pictured) is now at home in Airdrie, where she is undergoing intensive physiotherapy which often leaves her in tears.
Even now Charlene experiences severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), particularly when she is in the hospital.
The 33-year-old now lives in Airdrie with web developer Kenny, who admitted memories of Charlene’s freak accident kept him up at night.
“It’s a helpless feeling to see someone you love suffer so much,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget it.”
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