Wolverhampton gas blast: Survivor is back on her feet
"I was delivered into a hole in the kitchen floor and I was delivered out of the hole in the kitchen floor.
"But I don't believe in being miserable, it's a fault of the will."
Those were the words of Wendy Ayoub, who survived a huge explosion which totally destroyed her home on December 28 last year.
The explosion, which was caused by a gas leak, made national news, with emergency services searching through the mountain of rubble to rescue Mrs Ayoub.
Since the blast, which reduced her home to debris, Mrs Ayoub has spent the last three months in Eversleigh Nursing Home, Albert Road, Wolverhampton, where she has worked with staff to overcome her injuries.
She was miraculously saved by her washing machine, as it fell upon her, shielding her from falling wreckage.
She spoke of a moment where she and her carer heard the song 'Amazing Grace' on the radio, and began to sing together. She said: "There's a verse that says 'Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come' and we sang that together and I thought, that's spot on. I was delivered into a hole in the kitchen floor and then was delivered out of the hole in the kitchen floor, so it said it all."
"To say I injured my feet is a bit of an understatement," Mrs Ayoub, aged 73 said "I broke both my heels and had to be brought in on a stretcher on January 18. I've had to use a shuffle-board to transfer to and from bed and my wheelchair.
"One day I was particularly down, a bit low and then two faces appeared round my door and I thought to myself, 'come on Wendy, you can do this, come on girl.' And just by seeing their faces gave me that boost of encouragement and I haven't been that low since.
Mrs Ayoub, in her only interview since the ordeal that ruined her home, has nothing but praise for the carers, physios and staff that supported her back into independence.
"I came in here on a stretcher, and I walked out of here on my own two feet.
"One day, one of the carers came in and told me 'Wendy, Wendy, I've got good news'. She told me that the physios were coming, and it really felt like the cavalry were coming. I just burst in to tears. When they tried to get out out of the wheelchair, they said, 'you can do it Wendy' and though it felt like the raising of the Titanic, I did it and on March 1 I stood for the first time since it all happened.'
"Everyone has been outstanding here they really have. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty, and they've done everything with such good humour and that has made all the difference."
