Video: Billy monger on the support he has received (Credit: Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust)
A teenage racing driver who had both of his legs amputated at the QMC after a horrific crash is now home.
Billy Monger, from Surrey, crashed into another car, which had broken down on the track at racing speed at Donington Park during a British Formula 4 race on April 16.
He was then airlifted to the QMC, which is home to a regional trauma centre, and kept in an induced coma for days, but has since woken up and spoken about his injury.
Billy went home on Saturday (May 6) to mark his birthday weekend after he turned 18 on Friday.
He said: “When I found out the extent of my injuries, I still didn’t think I’d get the support I’ve got.
“When a tragic event like this happens, people pull together – I definitely want to take the positives out of this and make sure that I use it in a positive way for the rest of my life now.
“Still got a few years left in me for sure so I want to prove how much you can do even with something like this.”
Video: Billy on a signed letter from past and present F1 legends (Credit: NUH)
Formula 1 stars were among those who donated a total of more than £800,000 to Billy’s Just Giving page set up by his racing team JHR Developments.
Jenson Button and Max Verstappen each donated £15,000 with former British F4 rival Devlin DeFrancesco donating £26,000.
A number of F1 cars and drivers’ helmets, including those from Mercedes and McLaren, sported stickers reading ‘Billy Whizz’, his hashtag, at the Russian GP in Sochi during the last weekend of April.
While in hospital, Billy also received a letter of support from the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, the trade union for F1 drivers.
He said: “It said how all the drivers are in support of me for the future and will support me in my recovery.
“I saw a letter at the front and thought, ‘that’s amazing’, then to turn over and there be signatures from world champions like Lewis Hamilton and Niki Lauda really touched my heart.
“Some of the names on here are my heroes so I was lost for words and still am now.”
Billy wished to thank staff for care received at the QMC after having posted a message of support on his Facebook profile.
He said: “I think we started in a different ward but we went to the Major Trauma ward so I’ve met a fair few of the staff here.
“They’ve all lived up to high expectations – it has been truly inspiring to see how supportive they are of all the patients, not just me.
“Without them, I wouldn’t be here today so a massive thanks to every single one of the staff that have helped me.
“It was emotional saying goodbye to them all.”
Video: Billy thanked staff at NUH for care received (Credit: NUH)
Billy’s named consultant Tony Westbrook was amazed at how well Billy has coped with the injury.
He said: “His progress has been incredible; psychologically, he has been amazing and he has been a dream to work with.
“Because of how the national trauma network is set up, we know he’ll be in good hands when he goes home, especially with the support he has from his family and friends.”
Staff nurse Kirstie Measures was similarly impressed with Billy’s attitude to his injury.
She said: “Billy has a real older head on his shoulders; he has a great attitude and still has a smile on his face.
“One of his main goals before leaving hospital was to get into his wheelchair by himself and leave the ward on his own accord.
“I’m so pleased that we’ve helped him to achieve this.
“He’s really motivated and is progressing in his recovery because of his own determination and I’m pleased ‘Team NUH’ have been there to support him through it.”
