“I almost died in a car crash & boat explosion... all in one week!”

This woman defied the odds to make a remarkable recovery from two horrific accidents.

From top: Kellie was involved in a car accident days before the boat she was in exploded, searing her body with seconddegree burns.

It was a horrifying week Kellie Mencel wishes she could forever forget, yet it’s the one that will forever be etched in her memory. The then 17-yearold was involved in two truly horrific accidents within less than a week. “At the time, I couldn’t stop asking, ‘Am I meant to be alive? Is something or someone trying to tell me I’m not supposed to be here?’” she recalls.

Five and a half years ago, Kellie – now a fully recovered health and fitness blogger, was in a car accident after having fallen asleep at the wheel. Only days later, she almost lost her life again in a terrifying boat explosion that left her with second-degree burns to most of her body.

“I was alone in the car driving back from “I almost died in a car crash & boat explosion... all in one week!” the beach when I fell asleep. All I remember was waking up on the other side of the road and I was heading towards a forest, so I swung the wheel and the car rolled five times. Next thing I knew, someone was breaking a window to pull me out of the upside-down car,” recalls Kellie.

Rushed to the hospital with a suspected neck fracture, Kellie underwent tests that revealed she had miraculously escaped serious injury. “It was so scary, but I was just really badly bruised with some whiplash and, of course, very shaken up,” she says.

“I was extremely confused and couldn’t understand how I could’ve fallen asleep while driving. I was so traumatised that I was afraid of everything.” But the worst week of Kellie’s life was just the beginning.

Less than a week later, having headed to her family’s beach house for some much-needed rest, Kellie was with her father on his speed boat when the unthinkable happened.

“We couldn’t get the boat started. And, suddenly, the engine just exploded, turning the boat into a fireball. All I can remember is hearing a loud bang and then seeing fire coming towards my eyes, so I closed them. I tried to get off the boat, but I tripped. When I looked down, both my legs were on fire,” she recalls.

Jumping into the river, Kellie was horrified to see her skin floating in the water, like a flag waving in the wind. “I was in absolute shock and so much pain,” she shares.

After waiting two hours with her father – who had also been badly burnt – to be taken to the hospital, Kellie was told her legs, arms and face had suffered serious burns. “I was wearing a life-jacket and that was the only reason my torso wasn’t burnt as well,” she says.

Kellie could not believe that this had happened to her, especially after what she had been through so recently.

"When I realised how good exercising made me feel, I began to recover"

A healthy, happy Kellie is now inspiring and motivating others as a fitness trainer.

ON THE LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY

As the long and painful journey to recovery began, Kellie spent a month in hospital undergoing extensive treatment for burns and slowly learning to walk again.

There were not only physical but also psychological scars, with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. But Kellie was determined the near-tragedies wouldn’t prevent her from leading a healthy, happy life.

As she began frequent counselling sessions, Kellie also took up regular exercise. It was then she discovered her real passion in life. She began going to the gym and doing lots of hikes and walks. “When I actually realised how good exercising made me feel, because of the endorphins it releases, I began to recover physically and mentally,” she shares. “I now go to the gym six times a week and do a lot of body workout exercises, as well as functional movement exercises, and work with weights.”

Today, Kellie is a very popular personal trainer who shares her best exercise and health tips with her many thousands of Instagram followers – she actually has more than 13,000 loyal followers @kelliemencel.

Trim, toned and radiating good health now, a gorgeous Kellie sees it as her responsibility to inspire and motivate others. She says she now knows she’s “most definitely meant to be here. It’s very important to me to give back”, she reflects. “I want people to know that there is this amazing, easy thing you can do called exercise, which can help you in so many ways. I still have a few physical scars, but I feel incredibly lucky and I’m very excited for the future.” W