Critically injured Judo star Stephanie Inglis to travel home

Scottish judo star Stephanie Inglis, who was critically injured in a motorbike accident in Vietnam, has smiled for the first time since waking from her coma as she prepares to fly home. Picture: PA

The UK air ambulance arrived at the medical facility in Bangkok,in Thailand where she is being treated and was expected to depart late last night.

Doctors in Vietnam initially gave the Inglis family, of Inverness, a 1 per cent chance of survival following the accident in Ha Long. She smiled for the first time on Saturday.

The air ambulance will fly into Edinburgh but it has not been revealed which hospital the sportswoman, who lives in Dunfermline, will be treated in.

A post on the Save Steph Facebook page said: “This is a difficult journey which will stop in India, Georgia and Austria and then reach its final stage. Stephanie Inglis against all the odds will be home.”

It said: “She is in so much discomfort and fighting against all the odds to improve herself when the medical team asked her if she could hold up two fingers, Stephanie did, and then she smiled a small but amazing smile.

“The doctor was so surprised he started to bow and laugh, because not only did it show that Stephanie understood this instruction it also showed after all that’s happened to her she still had the humour and friendly personality that everyone respects and loves.”

The post added: “Stephanie still has so much work and hard times ahead of her, and there will be dark and hard days when she comes to understand fully what has happened, but she now has so many people she knows will be there for her.”

Her parents, Robert and Alison, travelled to Thailand to be with their daughter. Thousands of supporters have donated more than £300,000 to pay for medical care for the Glasgow 2014 silver medallist. Her family and friends say without the money it would have been impossible get her treatment, transfer her to hospital in Bangkok and bring her back to Scotland.

Ms Inglis’ childhood friend and fellow judo competitor Khalid Gehlan set up a fundraising campaign after the sport star’s travel insurance had been deemed invalid and her medical bills were £2,000 a day following the accident on 12 May. She suffered head injuries when her skirt caught in the wheel of a motorcycle taxi and pulled her off the bike, on her way to work teaching English in Ha Long.

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