Grainne Kealy is speaking out to warn others about the dangers of resting your feet on the dashboard.
She was only 22 when she was left without a forehead for 2 years after the car she was in skidded on ice and hit a wall. Unfortunately, her feet were up on the dashboard and slammed into her face when the airbag popped out, breaking bones in her face.
In an interview with LADbible, Grainne said: “My boyfriend at the time was driving us through Borris-in-Ossory in County Laois to do a bit of Christmas shopping and I had my feet on the dashboard. It wasn’t something I normally did, but I had new shoes on so I knew I wouldn’t leave dirty marks on the dashboard.
“My feet were on top of the airbag and, I know now, they inflate at 200mph. The force of that meant my knees were sent back into my face really powerfully. I broke nearly every bone in my face. I had a brain leak [called a CSF (Cerebrospinal Fluid)] and I lost two teeth.”
The couple were rushed to hospital where Grainne underwent surgery to fix the fractures to her face and the leak on her brain.
But after a few months, it was discovered that Grainne had an infection in the bone in her forehead. Doctors were forced to remove it and she lived without a forehead for two long years.
“It took a while to slowly go down,” she said. “It wasn’t like I suddenly woke up and it was sunken in. It took a while, which probably helped me get used to it.
“For a long time, I was afraid to leave the house. I became a bit of a hermit. I didn’t want to go out and then when I did go out, I would get looks. I bought hats to cover it. I was also worried about banging my head.”
After two years, medics reconstructed her face by fitting a ceramic forehead.
“It was strange. I’m aware of it, but I can’t really remember what it was like before I had it. Since it was first fitted, I’ve had fat taken from my stomach and injected either side of it to plump it out because you could see the edges,” Grainne said.
She also said that the crash triggered a sort of ‘domino effect.’
“I ended up with gallstones because of the medication I was on and I have near-constant headaches. There seems to be a different problem every year.
“I know people have it much worse off than me and I’m so grateful for the treatment I’ve received, but it’s hard to move on when it’s still ongoing for me. I think in total I’ve had 16 procedures and surgeries.”
She is now speaking out to warn other people about the dangers of placing their feet up on the dashboard.
“You see it all the time. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Conor McGregor and Selena Gomez have all posted photos to their Instagram with their feet on the dashboard. They have billions of followers who see that. You see it in films and on TV, it’s everywhere,” she continued.
“I just want to warn others about how dangerous it can be. I didn’t know – and some people say to me ‘how could you have been so stupid?’ but I honestly didn’t realise it could be so dangerous. I thought because I was wearing a seatbelt and was sat up properly in the car, I was safe.”
She added: “I want people to learn from my mistake.”
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