A former Wollongong woman has had her leg amputated after a freak accident in which a runaway car trapped her against a wall.
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It's been touch and go for Sarah McClure since the accident in Bathurst last Tuesday, as doctors fought to save her life after immense blood loss.
Unfortunately they couldn't save the 31-year-old's right leg.
She remains in a serious condition in Westmead Hospital but is in good spirits as she faces months and months of more surgery, recovery and rehabilitation.
"My goal is to get out of here, learn to walk and drive again," Sarah told the Mercury on Tuesday.
"I can't wait to hold my pup, Penny Lane who is my world and just throw a ball with her.
"Twelve months from now I will walk up Mt Kosciuszko."
The accident happened on May 8, when Sarah was hit by a Nissan X-Trail, parked at a property, that rolled down a steep driveway and hit her, pinning her between the vehicle and the wall of a house.
She remained trapped for two hours while emergency crews worked to free her.
They had to support the front wall of the house, fearing it would collapse on Sarah after the impact made it unstable.
Sarah was eventually freed by police rescue, taken by road ambulance to a waiting helicopter and flown to Westmead Hospital where she underwent life-saving surgery.
They put her into an induced coma and wanted to keep her that way for a week ... but the strong bugger fought her way out of the induced coma in 30 hours.
Shell Cove resident, and Sarah's best friend, Lauren Peterson received a distressing call from Sarah's neighbour soon after the crash and rushed to Sydney to be by her side.
"They rushed her straight into surgery and had to amputate her leg because the blood loss was so severe," Ms Peterson said.
"She died in the helicopter. They put four bags of blood through her just in the helicopter. She came back to us then they said they had to amputate.
"They tried below the knee ... but the blood loss was too severe so they had to go again ... at this stage she died again."
Ms Peterson said the focus moved away from the leg and onto saving her best friend's life.
"They stabilised her, put three bags of blood through her, and finally managed to amputate mid way up her thigh."
Ms Peterson and Sarah's parents saw her in ICU about 3.30am after the surgery.
"It was quite confronting, the blood transfusion blew her body up a little bit so she was a little bit unrecognisable," Ms Peterson said.
"But she reacted to us, they said talk to her, so we went up and touched her, her eyes started crying and her dad kissed her on her head.
"They put her into an induced coma and wanted to keep her that way for a week to avoid her having to deal with so much pain but the strong bugger fought her way out of the induced coma in 30 hours."
The toughest thing for Lauren to watch is her friend - who moved from the Illawarra to Bathurst less than 12 months ago to be closer to family - experiencing the "phantom pains".
"She's getting the pain of the crushing part of the leg that's not there.
"She says Loz, my toes are itchy can you scratch them and I have to say 'you don't have any toes'."
Sarah won't be deterred though and with the support of her family and friends will continue to fight.
On Monday she stood up for the first time.
She's now started physio - in five minute stints because the rush of blood, and pain, is excruciating each time she rises.
Doctors will work to make her severed skin as healthy as possible so she can be fitted with a prosthetic leg once well enough.
"She will be in there for three months. It takes about four weeks for the healing process and then she will need an operation to mould the stump and then depending on how everything goes she will have rehab and learn to walk again."
Meantime Sarah's Illawarra and Bathurst friends have started to raise money to help her gain back her independence.
"We want to modify her home and her car, all those things that will make the transition as easy for her as possible," Ms Peterson said.
"We were planning to do Mt Kosciusko, but one of the first things Sarah said to me when she woke was 'it looks like we won't be going any time soon Loz'.
"So now the plan is to do it in one year's time on the anniversary of her accident."
To donate visit Sarah's GoFundMe page.