Madeleine West reflects on being hit by a bus in 2002

She was lucky to survive being hit by a bus in 2002.

And almost 16 years after Madeline West was struck while standing on a footpath in Sydney, the former Neighbours star has revealed the ordeal helped to define the person she became.

In a personal piece for News Corp, the 37-year-old mother-of-six said the incident made her look at life quite differently.

Life threatening: Almost 16 years after being struck by a bus while standing on a footpath in Sydney, Madeleine West has revealed the ordeal helped to define the person she became

‘The whole sordid, slow and painful process brought home a crucial and often overlooked truth: The way we look, as definitive as we think it is, actually makes up the tiniest portion of who we are,’ she wrote.

Madeleine – who played Dee Bliss on Neighbours – recalled she was standing on a footpath in Sydney’s Oxford Street, having just bought a bag of snacks from a nearby convenience store, when the accident happened, resulting in a fractured skull.

‘The left side of my face bore the brunt, while my body was tossed a few feet before eating pavement and skidding to a stop,’ she added.

'The way we look, as definitive as we think it is, actually makes up the tiniest portion of who we are': Madeleine, who played Dee Bliss on Neighbours, reflected on the incident on Sunday

‘The way we look, as definitive as we think it is, actually makes up the tiniest portion of who we are’: Madeleine, who played Dee Bliss on Neighbours, reflected on the incident on Sunday

'Three skull fractures radiating from the orbital structure around my left eye': Madeleine pulled no punches in the article while describing her horrific injuries from the accident 2002

‘Three skull fractures radiating from the orbital structure around my left eye’: Madeleine pulled no punches in the article while describing her horrific injuries from the accident 2002

Madeleine pulled no punches in the article while describing her horrific injuries.

She explained: ‘Three skull fractures radiating from the orbital structure around my left eye, one running beneath the brain shelf. This little bugger remained stubbornly open for some time, leaking air bubbles into my cerebral fluid and cerebral fluid into my mouth.’

Madeline – who described how the impact caused her brain to ‘ricochet’ inside her skull like a ‘ball between Nadal and Federer’ – also claimed that police later told her the accident caused her makeup to leave an almost perfect imprint of her face on the bus.

Shocking: Madeline also claimed that police later told her the accident caused her makeup to leave an almost perfect imprint of her face on the bus

Shocking: Madeline also claimed that police later told her the accident caused her makeup to leave an almost perfect imprint of her face on the bus

She went on to explain that that the fractures closed after ‘several days’ and, thankfully, she made a full recovery – albeit with a ‘bundle of scars, a bit of a stutter and a dodgy eyebrow’. 

Finishing the piece, Madeleine had some advice to girls in the image-conscious Instagram age, saying that ‘the most attractive quality… is belief in yourself.’  

After leaving Neighbours in 2003, Madeleine has gone on to star in House Husbands, The Wrong Girl and Underbelly.

Positive outcome: Finishing the piece, Madeleine had some advice to girls in the image-conscious Instagram age, saying that 'the most attractive quality... is belief in yourself'

Positive outcome: Finishing the piece, Madeleine had some advice to girls in the image-conscious Instagram age, saying that ‘the most attractive quality… is belief in yourself’



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