A professional golfer was left in a coma after she suffered horrific burns on more than 50 per cent of her body when a bonfire went disastrously wrong.
Aimee Sawyer, 27, received third-degree burns in the freak accident before she was airlifted to Southmead Hospital.
Aimee, from Midsomer Norton near Bath, had to be resuscitated on the flight and spent five weeks in a medically-induced coma.
She was told she may never play golf again as her limbs also suffered burns.
Aimee's "strong spirit" saw her make a miraculous recovery and a few weeks ago she was able to pick up a golf club for the first time since the accident last year, SomersetLive reports.
Aimee told SomersetLive: "What happened was a freak accident so I'd like to raise awareness of it and stop someone else from having what happened to me happen to them."
Aimee and her older brother Darol, 29, were clearing rubbish from the back garden when their parents were on holiday last August.
Construction worker Darol said: "Unfortunately we put petrol on the fire and once Aimee lit the bonfire it exploded in her face.
"I turned around and she was engulfed in the fire, a box had blown out onto her covering her arm.
"I pulled her away and quickly got her in the shower to put the flames out.
"One of the neighbours had heard the explosion and called emergency services. In a blur paramedics, the fire brigade and an air ambulance came."
Darol continued: "I got a call at around 9.15pm from Aimee to say they were going to put her into a coma and that she might not wake up, that this might be her last call.
"It was so shocking, it's hard to describe, it was something we had done countless times, absolutely countless times with no problems."
Aimee was rushed to the specialist burns unit at Morriston Hospital in Swansea and where they didn't know if she would survive.
She was in a critical condition and had several emergency surgeries to clear her wounds, along with skin grafts from her back and stomach - the only unaffected skin left on her body.
She was also forced to undergo a tracheotomy as her vocal cords were damaged.
During this period, Aimee also contracted sepsis, a chest infection and had fluid on her lungs.
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Aimee woke up from the coma several times and had to be sedated again as her injuries were too severe.
When Aimee was woken up from her coma she was still critically unwell and she required dressing changes and chest physio before starting her rehabilitation.
She and Darol are now fundraising to raise money for the burns unit which saved her life and have a GoFundMe set up.
Aimee said she when first woke up from her coma she asked if she was dead and if she was going to die.
She also thought she had Covid because she saw the tubes surrounding her and her parents weren't allowed to visit her.
Aimee said: "I'd want other people to understand that they are stronger than they think they are, as that is what I found out about myself.
"I've always been an all or nothing type of person so to be faced with a challenge where your only option is to be strong meant that is exactly what I did."
Aimee said she had dreams in her coma.
She added: "Each one was like a life or death situation and I was fighting to stay alive in them.
"It was quite a journey to get to this point, in all honestly it has been a full year where I have been in survival mode just going day by day.
"I could see that everyone who loved me was hurt too, they were injured by what had happened so I wanted to recover for them too.
"I'm very lucky that I have such a strong foundation - such a strong loving family behind me, I'm luckier than most.
"I couldn't have done it without them, I wouldn't be here without them. There were times when I had to be brutally honest with them about how I was dealing with it mentally and they were able to help me and keep me going."
Aimee said it was her love of golf that helped keep her going.
The player has represented her county since she was 19 and has played in the Irish Ladies Open, Scottish Championships, English Women's amateur open and has held a handicap of plus 2.
She added: "It may sound corny but golf is a part of my soul, I absolutely love it and it kept me going.
"It is my sanctuary, my paradise. When I picked up a club again I cried my eyes out, I could hit the same distance - it was still there."
Darol said: "It's been a very long road and she has a way to go still but she is just inspirational.
"Last year she was Mendip Golf Club Ladies Champion and six weeks ago she picked up a club to defend her title and in the end only lost by one point."
Aimee said she was blown away by the skill and the kindness shown to her while in hospital.
She said: "To all the medical professionals that helped me, I would want to say thank you for giving me a chance."
