I WAS LUCKY TO SURVIVE
AFTER OMAGH
'I was very lucky to survive, but also unlucky'
LIFE for Michelle Mimnagh will never be the same, but the teenager is determined to make the most of her future.
The 17-year-old, from Drumquin, lost her right leg in the Omagh bombing over two months ago.
Today, thanks to an artificial limb, she can walk confidently across a room with great ease.
Michelle's leg was amputated just below her hip a few weeks after the blast.
For a time it was thought that it could be saved, but after an artery burst it was decided that it couldn't.
Michelle is now thinking about going back to school, after passing all her GCSE's which she sat before the bombing.
She said: "I know I have to get on with life and get used to it and maybe after Christmas I will think about going back to school to do my A-levels.
"My friends have been very good about what happened to me. One of them was also injured and is still at home with a shattered foot and ankle.
"I was lucky to survive the bomb, but very unlucky at the same time."
Michelle was working in Dunnes Stores part-time on August 15 and had just finished her shift when the bomb went off.
She said: "I saw my friend running off in front of me and I tried to run and realised that I couldn't.
"I saw my leg it looked really bad. It was all bent out to the side and there was tissue falling out of it.
"I realised there had been a bomb when I looked up and saw that all the buildings had been shattered."
Strangely, Michelle felt calm.
She said: "I didn't scream or anything and I wasn't in any pain at this stage. No-one wanted to lift me because of my leg, so I was one of the last to leave the scene in a bus."
It was quite a while before Michelle realised the extent of the bomb.
"I thought it had gone off right under me. I didn't realise how many people had died," she said.
"I was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital but after they worked with my leg on Saturday I didn't wake up until Thursday, five days after the bomb. When I did, I thought I had just got out of the ambulance.
"I was told my leg was really bad but they tried to save it for two-and-a-half weeks.
"I was really disappointed when they said it could not be saved, but they said it was for the best as I would have more use with an artificial limb as my knee cap was gone and all the bones were gone in my foot."
A week after the bomb she heard that 28 people had died. 'I nearly fainted," she said. "The names were read out on the radio and I realised that I knew someone who had died. It was then I knew how lucky I was."
Michelle went home to her mum, dad and three brothers for two weeks before going to Musgrave for her artificial limb.
"I was nervous seeing everyone at home again at the start. You do get stared at when you are on crutches or in a wheelchair.
"Having Suzanne at Musgrave has really helped and I'm sure we will keep in touch."
'I was very lucky to survive, but also unlucky'
LIFE for Michelle Mimnagh will never be the same, but the teenager is determined to make the most of her future.
The 17-year-old, from Drumquin, lost her right leg in the Omagh bombing over two months ago.
Today, thanks to an artificial limb, she can walk confidently across a room with great ease.
Michelle's leg was amputated just below her hip a few weeks after the blast.
For a time it was thought that it could be saved, but after an artery burst it was decided that it couldn't.
Michelle is now thinking about going back to school, after passing all her GCSE's which she sat before the bombing.
She said: "I know I have to get on with life and get used to it and maybe after Christmas I will think about going back to school to do my A-levels.
"My friends have been very good about what happened to me. One of them was also injured and is still at home with a shattered foot and ankle.
"I was lucky to survive the bomb, but very unlucky at the same time."
Michelle was working in Dunnes Stores part-time on August 15 and had just finished her shift when the bomb went off.
She said: "I saw my friend running off in front of me and I tried to run and realised that I couldn't.
"I saw my leg it looked really bad. It was all bent out to the side and there was tissue falling out of it.
"I realised there had been a bomb when I looked up and saw that all the buildings had been shattered."
Strangely, Michelle felt calm.
She said: "I didn't scream or anything and I wasn't in any pain at this stage. No-one wanted to lift me because of my leg, so I was one of the last to leave the scene in a bus."
It was quite a while before Michelle realised the extent of the bomb.
"I thought it had gone off right under me. I didn't realise how many people had died," she said.
"I was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital but after they worked with my leg on Saturday I didn't wake up until Thursday, five days after the bomb. When I did, I thought I had just got out of the ambulance.
"I was told my leg was really bad but they tried to save it for two-and-a-half weeks.
"I was really disappointed when they said it could not be saved, but they said it was for the best as I would have more use with an artificial limb as my knee cap was gone and all the bones were gone in my foot."
A week after the bomb she heard that 28 people had died. 'I nearly fainted," she said. "The names were read out on the radio and I realised that I knew someone who had died. It was then I knew how lucky I was."
Michelle went home to her mum, dad and three brothers for two weeks before going to Musgrave for her artificial limb.
"I was nervous seeing everyone at home again at the start. You do get stared at when you are on crutches or in a wheelchair.
"Having Suzanne at Musgrave has really helped and I'm sure we will keep in touch."
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0465
Published Date: 22-Oct-98
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