A YOUNG car crash survivor has returned to hospital to bring the baby she was not guaranteed of carrying to meet the 'miracle worker' surgeon who saved her life.

Sandy Nevison, 28, needed heart surgery after being hit by a car while walking her dogs with her cousin Jessica Quayle in Ulverston in 2014.

Jessica, 19, was killed and Sandy, then 25, was airlifted to Royal Preston Hospital with life-threatening injuries, including a ruptured artery and multiple broken bones.

Despite worries she would never be able to have another child, the former beautician gave birth to Alexa Grace last summer - and brought the eight-month-old to meet life-saving doctor Andrew Duncan at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Sandy said: “The last three years have completely changed my outlook on life. You never know when your time is up – you have to enjoy every day.

“I am so grateful that Mr Duncan was still at the hospital on the day of the crash. He is a miracle worker.

“There are no words that can describe how grateful I am to him. I really would not be still here had it not been for him, so neither would Alexa.”

From Preston she was transferred to Blackpool for immediate treatment on her heart. Sandy was so badly injured that the ambulance driver who took her drove with her fingers crossed for the whole journey.

By the time Sandy arrived, the surgical team were ready and waiting to operate.

Mr Duncan, who had already worked all day but stayed to operate on Sandy for 15 hours, repaired her aortic transection and saved her life.

Mr Duncan said: “Sandy sustained a ruptured or transected aorta (the main artery in the human body) when she was hit by the car in addition to serious internal pelvic injuries and a femoral fracture.

“This is an immediately life-threatening situation and many patients will die before reaching hospital.”

Sandy had also suffered a shattered pelvis which in itself could have killed her. It was thought she may also be paralysed and she was wheelchair-bound for three months.

Although Sandy has a 10-year-old son, Kieran, it was never certain that she would be able to carry another baby because of the severity of her injuries.

As soon as Sandy was well enough, she realised the enormity of what had happened and how Kieran would have been left as an only child if she had died.

Her various surgeons were all wary about the possibility of her trying for another baby, such were the extent of her injuries, but she found that she was pregnant in November 2015.

She was heavily monitored both in her local hospital, Furness General in Barrow and in Manchester. A healthy Alexa Grace was born four weeks early by C section.

Mr Duncan, added: “I was delighted to see Sandy with Alexa - it’s fantastic that she has recovered so well and been able to have another baby.

“She has come through a lot and still has more surgery to face.

“I have great admiration for her fortitude and the determination that has got her through the past two years.

"This sort of visit really makes our task seem worthwhile.”

Driver Kyle Braithwaite, then 24, of Beckside Road, Ulverston, was jailed in November 2015 for five years and nine months after admitting causing death and injury by dangerous driving.