A young woman was living a wonderful life—she had moved to another country, was working in her dream job, and had been in a lovely relationship for four years. But one day, her picture-perfect world turned topsy-turvy after an accident sent her into a coma. When she woke up, nothing was the same.
Brie Duval, from New South Wales, Australia, had it all and much more than she could have wished for. By her mid-20s, she had achieved everything that made her life extraordinary. But she didn’t know how drastically things would change in mere seconds.
Her story started on a happy note—she left Australia to move to Canada, had her favorite job to look forward to daily, and was in a great relationship with her boyfriend of four years. Little did she know what fate had in store for her.
A Horrific Accident
On a night out in August 2021, Brie’s dream life came to a halt, altering her reality most unexpectedly. She was in a car park and suffered a terrible fall in the wake of ongoing maintenance work since one of the walls hadn’t been finished.
Wondering why he hadn’t visited her in the hospital, the Aussie woman was about to send him a message when she saw a notification on her phone.
Because it was dark, Brie couldn’t see any barriers or tape covering the construction area and had a steep fall headfirst over the edge. She was rushed to the University of Alberta Hospital in an air ambulance, and there, her condition was deemed critical.
Slim Chances of Survival
Brie, 25, was taken to the Intensive Care Unit and put on life support. She suffered a brain bleed, multiple broken bones and fractures, shattered teeth, and a weakened left side of her body.
She spent four weeks in a coma, and her family was told she had a 10 percent chance of survival. Brie’s parents were in Australia then and couldn’t leave the country due to travel restrictions due to COVID-19.
Although they couldn’t travel to Canada to be with their daughter, the Duvals refused to give up and told the doctors not to switch off Brie’s life support. Their prayers were answered when Brie’s condition gradually improved over the next few weeks.
Proving the Doctors Wrong
To help cover Brie’s medical bills and rehabilitation costs, her family created an online fundraiser, which gathered approximately 33,584 AUD ($22450.74). A part of the description on the GoFundMe page read:
“One doctor who saw [Brie] the night she was flown to hospital was back in ICU a few days later and couldn’t believe she was off life support and breathing on her own…Anyone that knows Brie knows she would do anything to prove [the doctors] wrong!”
When Brie finally gained consciousness after a month, she experienced disorientation and amnesia. It took her some time to remember everyday things and connect the dots, after which she decided to check her mobile phone.
All Brie wanted to do was call her fiancé and find out if he knew what she had been through. Wondering why he hadn’t visited her in the hospital, the Aussie woman was about to send him a message when she saw a notification on her phone. She recounted:
“So I opened my phone going to message him when a message pops up from this woman that says I am now with [partner’s name]. I have moved him out. He’s now living with me and my son, please do not contact him.”
Recovering from the Physical & Emotional Pain
In other words, Brie’s boyfriend of four years, whom she had been living with before the accident, moved on with another woman. He left her in the dust and cut off all contact with her, going as far as blocking her on social media channels.
Brie said she never heard from or saw her ex-fiancé afterward, and he completely ghosted her following the accident. But that wasn’t all she endured. Despite having woken up from her coma, she had a traumatic brain injury and couldn’t see her parents.
After the harrowing accident, Brie spent five months in the hospital and was kept company by her best friend, Sam, and her mom, Sandy.
Brie’s friend drove eight hours to visit her every weekend, and her mom stayed beside her for hours. Sandy kept Brie’s family informed of her condition and became a massive support system for the young lady while she was away from home.
Documenting Her Journey & Raising Awareness
The gut-wrenching incident and all the heartbreak she experienced helped Brie realize the importance of family. She has since returned to her parents in Australia but struggles with her brain injury and has been raising awareness through her TikTok videos.
In one video, Brie compared her real-life coma experience with Rebel Wilson’s from the movie “Senior Year.” The TikToker said she woke up in a huge mess with no makeup and undone hair, unlike Wilson, who appeared to have had a beauty sleep.
In a second clip, the Australian native confessed she struggled to remember everyday things, like her passcode and address. And in another video, she shared her sarcastic take on her ex-fiancé’s betrayal. She expressed:
“No, because tell me why I thought getting ghosted and cheated on by my fiancé whilst I was in a coma, brain bleeding away, was bad, and then I come to find out that Stephen Hawking cheated on his wife. Not all men but all Capricorns.”
Brie continues to document her rollercoaster journey on TikTok and has received mixed views from netizens. Despite what she endured, she’s grateful for her friends and family and hopes to find her new normal and navigate life after everything she endured.
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