A FUNDRASING page set up to help a Melksham teenager adapt her home after she was paralysed in a car accident has raised nearly £2,000 in just under a month.

Chloe Orr, 19, of Halifax Road in Bowerhill hit a tree after losing control on a bend near Brassknocker Hill, Bath, on July 4 and had to be rushed to Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

She suffered 19 broken ribs, two punctured lungs and was paralysed from the chest down but despite her life-changing injuries, the teenager has remained positive.

In the weeks following the crash, Miss Orr’s friends and family rallied to kickstart a fundraising campaign to help pay for the vital equipment that she will need once she is able to come home.

Rebecca Bracey, a friend and work colleague of Miss Orr, who started the fundraiser said: “Chloe is my inspiration and she puts everything into perspective. If Chloe can deal with what she is going through then it makes you think that you can do the same.

“She has grown from the girl who liked to party with her friends to being the girl who can cope with something like this when most people would just crumble.

“We are overwhelmed by this generosity. It is amazing to think that perfect strangers are donating amounts of up to £600 to Chloe. It is really helping her recovery to know that people are so much behind her. I’m just happy that there is something practical that I can do to help.”

While Miss Orr’s lungs have started to heal, it will take an additional six weeks for her ribs to mend. Then she will be transferred to a spinal unit at Salisbury Hospital who will help with her rehab.

Speaking in the week after the accident, Miss Orr remained in high spirits despite her life-changing injuries.

She said: “The whole thing has been pretty crazy and doctors say the damage means that I won’t be able to walk again.”

“It hasn’t brought me down or bothered me because I know I will be able to live my life. I think that is what everyone is surprised at – how I’m taking it.

“I have to look at the situation in a positive way because there is nothing I can do other than carry on.”

One person donated £639 to the cause, something which Kelsea Little, media director at GoFundMe said was “heartwarming”.

She added: “We’re so happy to be able to provide a platform for these donations, and love knowing that they will make such a massive difference in Chloe's life.”

To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/Chloe-s_Collection