BeritaTREN.COM

When Lisa Watt woke from a two-week coma to find she had suffered brain damage in a horror car crash, her once promising future looked bleak.

The 22-year-old suffered a broken pelvis and a fractured spine in the smash but after her bones healed, the brain damage plunged her into a dark world of confusion and despair.

Miss Watt had memory loss and became deeply depressed and feared her life would never be the same again.

Just as she was beginning to regain hope, she was involved in a second car crash which shattered any confidence she had left.

Lisa Watt with partner Chris Davidson and their daughter Alba

But the determined student returned to university and vowed to complete her degree in social work, so she could help brain-injured people cope with stress and depression.

When she proudly graduated from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen last month, she was watched by Chris, 24, and their three-month-old daughter Alba.

Miss Watt said yesterday: 'I have learned the importance of hope and staying positive and being prepared to accept support.

'I want others to understand there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

'Because of what I have been through myself I would like to work with people with acquired brain injury.'

Lisa with her parents Lesley and Kenneth on her graduation day

Miss Watt's nightmare began when she woke from the coma in hospital two weeks after the crash in May 2009.

After eight weeks intensive care and rehab, she began to wrongly convince herself that everything was fine.

Miss Watt, of Banff, Aberdeenshire, said: 'I had no memory of the crash or the day before and I was telling myself that I was okay.

'I was in denial and thought that there was nothing wrong with me, even though my concentration and confidence were gone.'

She went back to university but it wasn't long before her life unravelled and had to take time out because of the depression.

Counselling helped but as she was about to start her course again she was involved in another car smash on icy roads late at night.

Miss Watt said: 'I didn't suffer any injuries but I really hit rock bottom. I was not in a good place at all mentally, but with the support of my family and friends I started the long process of getting better.'

She told of her mixed emotions over graduating. She said: 'I was very nervous all morning. However, walking up on to the stage was just such an overwhelming feeling.

'I was delighted to share my big day with my family members, who have helped me through so much.

'Doctors said parts of my brain would never heal and that other parts would take over. Graduating just goes to show what ambition can do to people.'

She also thanked the 'excellent' staff at Robert Gordon University for their support. dailymail.co.uk