​​Car crash survivor Mia Wessels graduates against all odds

At the age of 19, Stellenbosch University (SU) student, now alumna, Mia Wessels (31) was involved in a car accident that almost claimed her life. “I remember doctors telling my parents I'd never be able to live a 'normal' life again."

Mia says that doctors told her parents that, if she made it out of hospital alive, they would have to place her in a facility with 24-hour assistance.

Detailing the accident, which occurred a month after her 19th birthday, Mia says, “My dad got me the car for my birthday when we were still living in Johannesburg. There were three of us in the car and I was driving. Luckily, none of the passengers was hospitalised but everyone thought I was going to die."

The 2003 former Miss SA Teen finalist says that completing her degree is her biggest achievement. “I did it – and the first thing I did when I heard the news about graduating was to call my neurologist, my physiotherapist, my speech therapist and my neurosurgeon to tell them I'd completed my degree."

Mia says that it took her six years to complete her course and that she owes her success to the SU Disability Unit for fighting for her and supporting her throughout her time at University.

“I am where I am today because of the dedication and support I received from the team at the Disability Unit. I'd love to work there and maybe be the bridge between students with special needs and their lecturers."

Paging through what she calls her 'brag book', which is an album containing photographs of her before and after the gruesome accident, she talks about how her brother told her to wake up because her toes were starting to swell and look like those of a Telly Tubby.

Mia was comatose for six-and-a-half weeks and adds that, for the first three weeks in hospital, not even her parents were allowed to see her. “My liver had burst, my kidneys had failed and all my organs were starting to fail."

She says that, after the accident, she had to relearn how to study and had to deal with not being able to write. The 31-year-old says that she now does everything on computer.

“I've learnt the human mind is capable of anything but I wouldn't have been able to complete this degree without the help of departments like History, Ancient Cultures and Psychology – and, of course, the Disability Unit. They all bent over backwards for me.

“I think a lot of good came out of it. If it hadn't happened, I wouldn't be me. I wouldn't be this empathetic person I am now and it helped me see that, when things don't work out, it's not the end of the world."

The BA (Humanities) graduate will be receiving her degree alongside 4 216 other undergraduates at the first SU graduation of the University's Centenary on Thursday, 22 March. “I want to take a bottle of champagne and shake it just before spraying it onto the front row."

Mia says that she could have sat in a corner and felt sorry for herself but she set goals for herself and excelled.​