EACH day child loving Vicki Kelcher lives in fear that the crushing injuries inflicted by drink driver Peter Whalley could ruin her chances of motherhood.

joanne.constable@eveningstar.co.uk

EACH day child loving Vicki Kelcher lives in fear that the crushing injuries inflicted by drink driver Peter Whalley could ruin her chances of motherhood.

The 17-year-old child care student from Felixstowe said the news from doctors that she may not be able to bear a son or daughter had been a bitter blow.

Whalley, 35, Princes Gardens, Felixstowe, was sentenced at Bury Crown Court to eight months in prison yesterday after being convicted of dangerous driving.

But the legacy of Vicki's injuries are certain to last for years to come.

"I don't want to think about it (having a family)," said Vicki. "Because I work with children I find it quite hard as it is so important to me."

The teenager, who lives in Chaucer Road, can vividly remember the December night which may have changed her life forever.

She recalled the conversation she had with her boyfriend Ty Freer just before Whalley's car careered across Garrison Road, Felixstowe, before ploughing into her.

She said Ty had been pushed to the floor when the car had given him a glancing blow and that he had suffered a limp afterwards.

She remembered screaming and shouting when she was pinned between a wall and the black X-registration Mercedes: "It was like a big cramp, I couldn't move at all. I didn't think it was real at first – people have dreams like that – then reality sinks in, it was very very painful."

Vicki also spoke of how she had struggled through the pain and operations with the support of her family and Ty.

She especially missed being at home at Christmas time last year as she was confined to a bed in Ipswich Hospital with a pelvic frame uncomfortably pinning her fractured bones in place. Her family came to visit her and watch her open her presents but she missed the homemade traditional dinner. However Vicki has vowed to make up for it by ensuring this year's Christmas is extra special.

Vicki had to wear the pelvic frame for 13 weeks and hated it so much that when doctors told her they could either take it off immediately without painkillers or leave it a while longer for her to be anaesthetised she chose the painful route. She said as the metal pins were removed from her legs she was in excruciating pain and said 'there was blood everywhere'.

The former Deben High School pupil paid tribute to Ty, who has been with her for almost a year, as he visited her every day she was in hospital.

"He helps me do a lot of stuff, when I was in hospital he used to come every day and kept me company. He bought me stuff all the time and got me drinks. He still helps me buy stuff."

Vicki said she cannot forgive Whalley and branded his sentence "pathetic".

"I thought he would get longer than that."

"I'm annoyed, angry and upset. I would have said he should serve at least two years. He nearly killed me. It was only because I was a strong person that I survived," she said.

"If he gets out in four months, he has spent less time in prison than I did in hospital.

"I will never forgive him. He has never approached us saying how sorry he is. It doesn't mean anything to me if he did now because it's too late."