Edinburgh mum woke in England after ending up in three month long coma

Edinburgh Live

17 hours ago

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An Edinburgh woman had to relearn to walk and talk after a horror car crash left her in a coma for three months - but is now back running marathons.
Fiona McAllister, 47, was involved in a car crash 17 years ago, which left her with an acquired brain injury, and she was put into a coma to keep her alive. She spent 18 months in the hospital learning to eat, walk, and talk.
Fiona's doctor, Vera Newman, said she has never seen anyone recover from a brain injury like Fiona's before. So Fiona was determined to get out there for her mental health; she began slowly, trying to jog back in April 2019.
She started going out at 4am - as she puts more pressure on her left leg than her right and was self conscious of her running style. But gradually, she built her confidence, and ten years after the crash, she was able to run a marathon.
Now she runs three times a week and goes mountain biking once a week. Fiona, a DPD worker from Newbridge, Edinburgh, said: "The crash was so severe, I was put into a coma to keep me alive. I had no seatbelt on, went straight through the windshield, and had no recollection.
"I had to learn to drink, eat, go to the toilet, get dressed, and get washed. It was like starting out as a baby."
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Fiona was on the backseat of the car when it hit it a tree off the road - sending her through the windshield in October 2008. She was put in a coma for three months.
She said: "Most of the memories I have of the accident are what my mum and dad told me. I woke up from the coma in Leeds General Infirmary, and I felt like 'what was I doing here?'
"The first drink I had was a strawberry Ribena, which I choked on because it took a while to get used to drinking again."
She spent a period at Daniel Yorath House, which is one of the best brain rehabilitation units in the UK. Fiona went to physiotherapy, where she learned to walk again.
She said: "I joined the gym a week after I was discharged from the hospital. Because of my nerves, I had to learn to speak again, and my mum made me move my muscles every morning."
(Image: SWNS)
It took years for Fiona to regain her balance and run again. She said: "My balance is not always great. It took me years to put on my jeans while standing on my right leg."
She had always been a keen runner but lost interest while at university. Fiona started running again in 2020, and in the same year she completed
Fiona said: "I used to feel very self-conscious because I ran differently from others, but it's not my fault."
Due to her stability issues, Fiona has a different running action to others where she puts more pressure on her left leg than her right leg. She gained more confidence after meeting her running coach in 2019 and moving to Kirkcaldy, Fife.
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She said: "Even when I go for a run now, there are times when I scuff my foot on a stone or a curb and down I go."
She decided to do her first marathon in Yorkshire in 2020, and has completed four marathons since. Fiona said: "I did not think it would be possible to run again, and when I crossed the line, it felt amazing. The week before I did the Yorkshire marathon in 2020, I did my fastest 10k. I kept getting injured because of my hard work."
Fiona ran the Inverurie, Aberdeen half marathon on May 11, 2025, and gave her medal to her daughter, Madison, 11, for her 12th birthday.
She said: "It took me all my strength, courage, and faith to even think about running again. If I can do it, so can anyone."