Woman given five per cent chance of survival after skiing accident returns to slope that nearly killed her

Olivia Corbiere, 23, suffered a brain bleed, lung damage, a broken pelvis and three fractured vertebrae when she fell 15ft (4.5m) down a ravine in Bansko, Bulgaria, last year.

Doctors told Olivia's parents Linzi Corbiere, 47, and Sebastien Corbiere, 51, that she had just a five per cent chance of survival and might never talk again if she did.

After spending six weeks in hospital in both Bulgaria and England, Olivia was able to return to her home in Aston, near Rotherham.

Nearly a year after the accident, Olivia has returned to the resort and even did a black run - a slope that is extremely difficult and is only suitable for advanced skiers - with her dad Sebastien.

Olivia, who has also returned to her full-time job as a kitchen designer said: "I was excited to go back and ski, it is something that I have done for many years and I felt more confident being with my family. My parents had said if I don't want to ski then that's absolutely fine but I wanted to give it a go.

"On the second day I did a black run with my dad and my mum was waiting at the bottom, she was absolutely petrified but the thrill was amazing. I even got my mum to have ski lessons whilst we were there."

Olivia went on the five-day ski trip with her friends and sister Phoebe, 20, in March last year but tumbled down a ravine while going over some slushy snow.

She went into the ravine and she was rushed to hospital, where shocked medics said they had "never seen" a head injury like hers. She later underwent four hours of emergency surgery where specialists removed part of her skull to reduce a life-threatening bleed on her brain.

Olivia was also found to have suffered three fractured vertebrae, a broken pelvis, a broken eye socket and a broken nose in the horror fall. Linzi rapidly jetted out to Bulgaria to be by her bedside before she was put into a medically induced coma to help stabilise her.

She has now been reunited Dr Nurfet Alioski - who removed part of her skull removed to reduce bleeding on her brain surgery on her.

Olivia said: "It was very emotional as I was thinking about what my parents, sister and friends must have gone through. It also filled in the gaps as I got to see a little of what they did whilst I was in hospital.

"Meeting Dr Allioski was surreal, he was so overjoyed to see us and he was so impressed with my tracheostomy scar and the scar on my head. His comment was 'my work is good’."

When she was brought back to the UK in April last year, doctors warned Linzi and Sebastien to prepare for a long recovery lasting several months or perhaps years. Olivia, who has no recollection of the five-week period following her accident, began to improve once she was able to learn what had happened to her.

Linzi says it was amazing to see Olivia, who is also able to drive again, meet people who helped the family while she was in hospital.

She said: "It gave a bit of closure and it was emotional - we met the translators who helped us last year, who we have remained very good friends with. We went to see the people from the ski hire shop who were a massive support to us and the icing on the cake was seeing Dr Nurfet Alioski just before we flew home.

"She has no recollection of the man and it was weird because we remembered our way around the hospital and even things like the smell of it. Dr Nurfet Alioski was like 'oh my God', he couldn't believe how she was and he was so impressed with how her scars of healed.

"He said he needed a photo with her - I don't think he expected to do so well."

Olivia will be having complex facial surgery this year - where doctors will to fix a break in her eye socket by fitting implants in her cheek.

She originally suffered from a really bad short term memory after the accident but is now "a normal 23-year-old."

Linzi said: "She's got double vision and a slight droopy eye - and as a young woman, you want to do everything that you can do. She's got to have her cheek broken, then implants fitted in her cheek and then implants in her eye so it's obviously quite complex.

"We've got two surgeons and a neurosurgeon on board so we are just waiting for a date, hopefully it will be March this year. The recovery is around six to eight weeks if everything goes to plan.

"They have said she won't look like how she did before the accident but they are going to do a damn good job to try and get her feeling confident. Other than her eye, there's no real lasting damage - she's got her memory back because she had a really bad short term memory.

"She's allowed to drive and works full-time, she's a normal 23-year-old considering what's happened in the last year."

Olivia, who has been supported by the brain injury charity Headway, is now planning to backpack around South East Asia with her family later this year.

Linzi said: "We are going to go backpacking around South East Asia this year. We are doing it as a family and it's something to look forward to and it's something to drive Olivia.

"She wants to get a house and everything but she knows that she needs to live her life. We are going for three weeks, it's so exciting and you can see that in her face."