My arm was crushed in a horror smash with a lorry in Bali – it’s a miracle I’m still alive

A beautician has detailed the agonising pain she felt when her arm was crushed by a lorry 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 motorbike wobbled and she fell into an oncoming lorry on July 21.

The 33-year-old had sold her business and flown out to Bali in January where she met her partner Kenny Wood –  but the freak accident turned their dream life into a nightmare.

Recalling the harrowing experience, Charlene, from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, told STV News: ‘It crushed my hand completely. I pulled my arm out and all of my skin and fat came off. It took everything to the bone.

‘I lay at the side of the road for 40 minutes screaming.’

A fundraiser was set up to provide Charlene (pictured) with the treatment needed to save her arm

Although Kenny rushed to be by her side, Charlene begged him to let her die as she bled out on the side of the road for six hours.

She remembered how her fingers ‘were all in different positions’ and she was ‘trying to put them back in place’.

Charlene even used a string from her camping equipment to secure the skin that was falling off her arm.

‘I didn’t know pain like that existed, she said. ‘That’s something that will never leave me. I don’t even know if I’ll ever have the words to describe it.’

Eventually an ambulance came and Charlene was whisked away to a local hospital with her shattered arm in nothing but a muslin cloth.

But doctors were unable to treat her there and she was swiftly moved on to a BIMC hospital.

Charlene had multiple blood transfusions as doctors battled to save her life. Her bones had shattered from the hand down.

But the hospital stopped treatment after learning that her travel insurance company would not pay the extortionate medical bills due to two prior claims.

Her worried family turned to GoFundMe in a desperate attempt to raise the vital funds.

More than £100,000 was crowdfunded for Charlene’s treatment in just three days. Without it, her arm would likely have been amputated entirely.

Charlene (pictured in hospital) had multiple blood transfusions as doctors battled to save her arm – but they stopped treatment after learning that her travel insurance company would not pay the medical bills

Charlene (pictured) moved to Bali in January 2024 after selling her business

Her partner Kenny described the money as ‘absolutely critical to her survival’.

Although she thanked those who donated, Charlene believes that the skin and fat on her arm could have been saved if the doctors had carried out the surgery on the first day she was admitted to hospital – rather than delaying until the funds came in three days later.

After surgery, Charlene was kept in the hospital where doctors administered a range of high strength painkillers and she was drip-fed water for two weeks.

The health influencer lost six-and-a-half pounds during this desperate time and felt her body shutting down.

Charlene was then flown to Glasgow Royal Infirmary – where staff were confused about the strange concoction of drugs she was on including diabetes medication and different antibiotics.

Now eight weeks after the terrifying ordeal, Charlene is undergoing painful physiotherapy sessions which often leave her in tears. 

She performs agonising exercises every hour with the hope of regaining strength in her hand.

Charlene (pictured) is now at home in Airdrie where she is undergoing intensive physiotherapy that often leaves her in tears

Even now Charlene experiences severe symptoms of PTSD, particularly when at the hospital.

The 33-year-old now lives in Airdrie with web developer Kenny – who admitted to being kept up at night with flashbacks of Charlene’s freak accident.

‘It’s a powerless thing seeing someone you love in so much pain,’ he said. ‘It’s not something I think will ever leave me.’