A Wagga woman stuck in Canada is eager to return home after narrowly surviving a horrible accident.
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Alanda Packer and her boyfriend, also from Wagga, were coming to the end of a two-year stay in Canada on working holiday visas when their flight home was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Two weeks later Ms Packer's life changed in an instant when the quad bike she was riding on a friend's property near Montreal crashed into a tree.
"I didn't know what was happening, so every 10 minutes in the ambulance I'd speak to my friend ... and say, 'What's happened?'," she said.
"Once I was in hospital and realised what had actually happened I was in shock. I'm still really in shock now. It just feels so surreal."
Ms Packer said she felt lucky to be alive after the horrific accident left her with a concussion, eight broken bones and a laceration to her face.
She broke her femur and ribs, fractured her lower spine and required 15 stitches to her forehead, but said she felt inspired to train for a half marathon once she recovers.
"I never took anything for granted before. I was very active and I loved life. But it's just, anything can change in an absolute moment," she said.
"I'm just so glad to be here and so glad to be okay, really. I'm just in shock that nothing worse happened," she said.
Ms Packer and her boyfriend have re-booked tickets to Australia for the third time with "no guarantee" the flight will go ahead.
"We were supposed to come home on September 14 but [the airline] cancelled those flights," she said.
"And then the next flights we booked were on October 2. Those ones got cancelled the day of my accident.
"I'd love to be home right now but obviously because of COVID I can't be. But once I'm home I'll be very grateful to be back with [my family]."
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Ms Packer spent eight days in hospital and has had to start rehabilitation while she waits to return to Australia, racking up a bill of $35,000 which her travel insurance will only cover a small portion of.
Her sister Kayla, who lives in Wagga, has started a fundraiser to help cover medical costs and her plane ticket to fly home,. which has already raised $6,500.
"Because my insurance caps off at $25,000 ... it's going to my hospital bills. We've pretty much gone through all my savings," Ms Packer said.
"It was never our intention to push this on anyone, it's just to help me and my family out.
"But I just want to say thank you to everyone that's donated, to everyone who's shared the post on Facebook. It means so much.
"My heart is so full and I feel so grateful. It's just unbelievable."
If you would like to donate to Alanda and Kayla's fundraiser you can do so here: www.gofundme.com/f/mryfa8-help-my-sister-please