Madeleine West has spoken candidly about the profound impact a life-threatening accident had on her 18 years ago.
The Neighbours star, 39, shared a confronting photo to Instagram on Monday showing her horrific facial injuries after being hit by a bus in 2002.
In the image, a then 22-year-old Madeleine looks unrecognisable with a bloodshot eye, stitches in her brow and bruising all over her face.
Shocking: On Monday, Neighbours star Madeleine West shared this confronting photo of her horrific injuries after being hit by a bus in Sydney 18 years ago. She also revealed how the accident had changed her views on beauty
‘Today I’m celebrating 18 years since being hit by a bus in the head… always wanted to be the kind of girl who stopped traffic. Just preferably not with my face,’ she wrote in the caption.
Madeleine explained that the shocking image did not show the full extent of her injuries, which included ‘three skull fractures leaking brain fluid, the cerebral haemorrhage and hematoma, the busted teeth [and] broken capillaries’.
The actress, who plays Dee Bliss on Neighbours, went on to say that despite ‘the endless nights of excruciating pain and the months of therapy’ to regain her motor skills, she had thought at the time the ‘greatest tragedy’ was the impact on her looks.
Putting things in perspective: Madeleine, who plays Dee Bliss on Neighbours, confessed that despite ‘the endless nights of excruciating pain and the months of therapy’ to regain her motor skills, she had thought at the time the ‘greatest tragedy’ was the impact on her looks
‘However, that would turn out to be the greatest gift,’ she said.
That’s because the accident taught her an important life lesson about beauty, namely that a person’s appearance is only a ‘tiny portion’ of who they are.
‘I learned that no one should ever be forced to give up their dreams. No matter who we are, where we come from or how we look, our dreams are what sustain us,’ she told her followers.
Important lesson: The accident taught her an important life lesson about beauty, Madeline said, namely that a person’s appearance is only a ‘tiny portion’ of who they are
‘Our ambitions get us out of bed in the morning, and if you have the courage, the determination, the drive, and the willingness to work hard to transform the dream into reality, then nothing can stop you … not even a bus.’
Madeleine encouraged her fans who were obsessed with ‘primping’ for Instagram to ‘call BS’ on society’s impossible beauty standards.
She concluded: ‘The glass ceiling is yours for the breaking, and at the end of the day, the most attractive quality you can possess is belief in yourself.’
‘The glass ceiling is yours for the breaking, and at the end of the day, the most attractive quality you can possess is belief in yourself’ she concluded
Madeleine was hit by a bus in 2002 while waiting on a footpath at Oxford Street in Sydney.
Since March, the former Underbelly star and her six children have been staying at her home in Byron Bay amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Madeleine shares Phoenix, 14, Hendrix, 12, Xascha, nine, Xanthe, eight, and six-year-old twins Xalia and Margaux, with her ex-partner Shannon Bennett.
Not ready to re-enter the world: Despite how busy her household must be, Madeleine recently admitted in a column for Nine Honey that she is ‘dreading’ the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 outbreak ending
Despite how busy her household must be, she recently admitted in a column for Nine Honey that she is ‘dreading’ the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 outbreak ending.
‘From my viewpoint, I’m yet to find a story more compelling, or a character study more rich and rewarding than observing Australia in isolation,’ she explained.
She added that she doesn’t want a ‘full return to normality’ just yet, as she’s been enjoying using coronavirus as a convenient excuse in her life.
‘I was finally feeling comfortable blaming every missed call, missed email, missed visit, missed delivery and missed deadline on the broad brushstroke excuse of COVID-19,’ she said.
‘I’m concerned we will start taking for granted again those things we didn’t know we had until they were gone, like real human connection, compassion and contact,’ Madeleine wrote.
‘I’m concerned we will start taking for granted again those things we didn’t know we had until they were gone, like real human connection, compassion and contact’ Madeleine wrote