Farmer, 26, loses her senses of smell and taste after cracking her skull in a horror quad bike crash while riding without a helmet
- Beca Glyn, 26, fell of the bike on her family farm in North Wales in March 2018
- An ambulance Ms Glyn to hospital with a fractured skull and neck injuries
- Ms Glyn lost her sense of taste and smell, a condition known as anosmia
- She had nine months of rehabilitation, which left her exhausted
A farmer lost her sense of smell and taste when she cracked her skull in a quad bike crash because she wasn’t wearing a helmet.
Beca Glyn, 26, said she is lucky to be alive after the horror accident on her family farm in Betws-y-Coed, Conwy, North Wales.
She had been riding a quad bike into her pastures when she swerved sharply to avoid sheep, falling onto her head.
An ambulance rushed to the scene to take Ms Glyn to hospital with injuries to her head and neck. She spent nine months in rehabilitation.
Ms Glyn lost her sense of taste and smell, an incurable condition known as anosmia that can be caused by a brain injury or stroke.
She said: ‘If I’d been wearing a helmet, I’d still be able to enjoy the wonderful smell and taste of a roast lamb dinner cooked with garlic and rosemary.’
Beca Glyn, 26, of Betws-y-Coed, Conwy, Wales, lost her sense of smell and taste when she cracked her skull in a quad bike crash because she wasn’t wearing a helmet
Ms Glyn lost her sense of taste and smell after the accident in March 2018. The incurable condition is known as anosmia and can be caused by a brain injury or stroke
Ms Glyn is warning other of the importance of wearing a helmet
On the day of the incident in March 2018, Ms Glyn had been working on her family’s 350-acre farm where her family run a flock of 1,000 sheep and a herd of beef cattle.
She was gathering sheep from a field and across a small country road while driving an ATV (all terrain vehicle) when the animals took a wrong turn.
Ms Glyn said: ‘The sheep started moving in the wrong direction, I panicked and in that split second, thought the dog may not manage to bring the sheep back the right way but if it did, I risked driving into them.’
She then swerved her quad bike before it toppled over. Her head hit concrete and the bike fell on top of her, knocking her unconscious.
Her father, Glyn, and a neighbour were able to lift the bike off her and call the emergency services, North Wales Pioneer reports.
WHAT IS ANOSMIA?
Anosmia is the total loss of sense of smell, while hyposmia is partial loss.
Following a brain injury many people report that their senses of taste and/or smell have been affected.
This may be as a consequence of injury to the nasal passages, damage to the nerves in the nose and mouth, or to areas of the brain itself.
Loss or changes to smell and taste are particularly common after severe brain injury or stroke and, if the effects are due to damage to the brain itself, recovery is rare.
If recovery does occur, it is usually within a few months of the injury and recovery after more than two years is rare.
Sadly, there are no treatments available for loss of taste and smell.
Source: Headway, The Brain Injury Association
Ms Glyn said: ‘I know I’m very lucky to be alive and I’ve made huge progress, but I also know that if I had been wearing a helmet and undertaken training on driving an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) safely, I may not have ended up in hospital at all.’
During treatment, it was discovered Ms Glyn’s senses were left damaged.
Loss or changes to smell and taste can occur after a brain injury, minor or severe, and may be due to damage to nerves in the brain.
Other causes of loss of complete smell loss, called anosmia, include ageing, diabetes, Parkinson’s, and schizophrenia, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Rarely patients will recover from a case as severe as Ms Glyn’s, and she said: ‘I hope my sense of taste and smell comes back but the longer it takes, the less likely it is.’
Now Ms Glyn is warning other of the importance of wearing a helmet.
She said: ‘If I’d been wearing a helmet, I would have been totally fine.
‘I’d still be able to feel that fantastic sense of anticipation when I’m out in one of my favourite tapas restaurants.
‘So much changed after my accident. Despite trying different remedies and therapies, I’m still affected by disrupted sleep patterns every day.
‘I would give anything not to have struggled with the months of exhaustion I endured after the slightest bit of effort.
‘You can’t put a price on your health and wellbeing, as I found out the hard way.’
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