The Deputy Mayor of Mount Pearl is opening up about her recovery after surviving a horrific accident earlier this year.

Nicole Kieley was leaving Shoppers Drug Mart on Lemarchant Road in May when a vehicle slammed through the glass doors, striking and pinning her underneath.

Kieley suffered serious injuries and was in a coma for the first few days following the incident. She told VOCM News that she woke up feeling thankful to be alive.

“The first thing I felt was incredible gratitude and to know that only good things were to come,” says Kieley, who recalls waking up surrounded by family and friends who had been anxiously waiting by her side for days. She says there has been an outpouring of support.

“I have had strangers, while I was under a car, hold my hand, keep me awake. I got delivered a beautiful quilt by a stranger who didn’t know me.”

Kieley spent months in hospital and has undergone several surgeries, including the amputation of her left leg. She’s now working on regaining full mobility using a prosthetic leg.

She’s learning to adjust to her micro-processor knee, which allows her to bend and move freely, and will eventually allow her to run and climb stairs.

“I’m alive and well-loved and that is so important amongst everything.”