Oakey woman rallies

A WOMAN who cracked her skull after falling down a flight of stairs in Oakey is showing slow signs of recovery in a Brisbane hospital.

Helen Flanagan, 54, fell from the top of a pedestrian overpass near the Oakey train station on Wednesday afternoon which left her in a critical condition with serious head injuries.

Ms Flanagan was rushed to Toowoomba Hospital and was later airlifted to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital where she was placed in an induced coma.

Close friend Joanne Timbs said Ms Flanagan had suffered a brain aneurysm and was in a “very bad way” but began showing small signs of improvement yesterday.

She said Ms Flanagan had been brought out of her coma and while still unable to speak, had managed to respond to some questions.

“She’s still not in a good place but she is off life support and is breathing on her own,” Ms Timbs said.

“She can’t talk yet but she has squeezed her doctor’s fingers so we’re taking that as a positive sign.”

Ms Timbs said she was thankful to the three men who saw her friend fall, and credited them with saving her life when they gave her emergency first aid.

She also thanked the paramedics for arriving at the scene near the corner of Bridge and Campbell Sts within six minutes.

“It was amazing they (the men) saw her fall,” Ms Timbs said.

“She had been on her way home and had probably walked over that bridge 1000 times.

“I just want to thank the workers and the ambulance because if it wasn’t for them, I don’t know what would have happened,” she said.

Ms Flanagan’s family is by her side as she continues to recover in hospital.