Madam Wai Foong Kwai was always careful about putting on a seat belt when travelling in Singapore.

So when she sat in the car of a Malaysian friend during a holiday to Cameron Highlands two years ago, it was second nature for her to strap it on.

But the belt in the rear seat of the car was faulty. It could not be pulled across her body completely.

"He told me it was faulty. I asked him if it was okay not to wear the seat belt," recalled Madam Wai, 54, in Mandarin.

"He said it was not like in Singapore, where you would be fined if you didn't put on your seat belt. So I didn't think too much about it."

Then tragedy struck during the one-hour drive from Ipoh to Cameron Highlands.

The blue Proton Wira SE that she was travelling in swerved off course at a bend. The driver had apparently lost control of the car, which was travelling at about 40kmh to 50kmh, said Madam Wai's husband, Mr Andy Wong, who was in the front passenger seat.

The car hit the metal railings in the opposite lane. The driver tried to steady his vehicle but ended up crashing into an oncoming lorry.

On impact, the car skidded across the two-way road and struck metal railings again. It was a wreck.

"I don't know what happened after that. When I regained consciousness, I was in the hospital," Madam Wai said.

She was told later that she was found under the front passenger seat, her body limp and covered with blood. She suffered multiple cuts on the right side of her face and was spewing bits of glass from her mouth.

Mr Wong, 48, said: "On the way to the hospital, she was lying on my shoulder. She kept saying she was in pain. She was bleeding so badly that my white jacket was soaked in her blood."

Madam Wai's sister-in-law, who was also seated in the rear seat and unbelted, suffered serious injuries too. She broke six of her ribs.

Mr Wong, who had his seat belt on, escaped unscathed. The driver, who also wore a seat belt, broke his pelvic bone.

Madam Wai suffered a nerve injury that left her paralysed from the neck down for four months.

"I could move only my neck and had to wear braces, which were very uncomfortable."

After five days at the Ipoh General Hospital, she was moved to the Singapore General Hospital. She stayed there for two months, toting up a bill of $20,000.

"The doctor told my husband I might be wheelchair-bound for the rest of my life. He was scared to death," she said.

Madam Wai recalled seeing herself in the mirror for the first time after the accident.

"My husband had pushed me into the hospital lift. I caught my reflection in the mirror and couldn't believe what I saw. It looked like I had many worms on my face," she said of the cuts she suffered.

Indeed, it was a long road to recovery for the former sales supervisor.

She started physiotherapy three times a week at the Society for the Physically Disabled in Tiong Bahru in November 2006.

Four months later, she could take small steps without a walking stick.

For almost a year, she depended heavily on her family members for her daily needs. The family of five live in a three-room flat in Bukit Ho Swee View.

Her husband stopped work as a welder for nine months to feed and bathe her. Madam Wai's three children, aged 24, 21 and 17 now, also took turns to care for her and do the household chores.

It was only late last year that she could begin to do simple chores like sweeping the floor.

The accident also affected her bladder muscles and she had to wear adult diapers every night for six months.

"No choice," she said.

She said her positive thinking helped her to take the ordeal in her stride, but she did worry that she would become a burden to her family.

"People may not like it if you ask for help all the time," she said.

Today, she has regained the use of her left limbs although her right limbs are still weak. She can walk around but her movements are slow. She has also regained control of her bladder and no longer wears diapers. The cuts on her face have healed, and only tiny white scars remain.

She is hopeful that she will get better but noted that "the doctor said the recovery will not be 100 per cent".

A traffic accident while on holiday was the last thing on her mind, she said.

"I can imagine if I'm a pedestrian and get knocked down, but I never thought I could be so badly injured in a car."

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on May 4, 2008.