Veronika Tuckey, of Surf Beach, was lucky to escape with her life when she was involved in a serious two-car crash on the Princes Highway on a wet afternoon in November 2017.

The crash turned her life upside down and she would spend the next three weeks in an induced coma, with loved ones waiting anxiously by her bedside.

Immediately following the crash, Ms Tuckey was rushed to Batemans Bay Hospital, where medical staff spent close to an hour trying to resuscitate her.

She was then flown to the intensive care unit at Sydney’s St George Hospital for the start of her lengthy recovery.

After being stabilised, the then 45-year-old was flown to Bega’s South East Regional Hospital for eight days, before being transferred to Batemans Bay Hospital for four weeks of rehabilitation.

Almost one year on, her recovery is far from over. 

The One New Eurobodalla Hospital Facebook group has revitalised the campaign for a regional shire hospital – and Ms Tuckey this week said a central hospital was essential.

“We indeed need a new hospital in the Eurobodalla. Families have to travel at least two hours for operations or treatments because our hospitals don’t have the services or facilities,” Ms Tuckey said.

She said the stresses of being in hospitals far from home took a toll on her family, who needed to find temporary accommodation in Sydney during her recovery.

“Although I’m alive and appreciate all the care I needed and received, it was still a great inconvenience, especially for my family and friends, who had to fundraise to travel all the way to Sydney and stay in accommodation.

“If it wasn’t for them supporting me while I was in a coma for three weeks, I may have been worse off.”