Amy Pieters to continue recovery at specialist brain injury center

After several months in a rehabilitation center, Amy Pieters will continue her recovery from a training crash in December at a specialist facility for people with serious brain injuries.

Pieters spent four months in a coma after she crashed and hit her head during a training ride with the Dutch track team in Spain last year.

She awoke from her coma in April and was eventually discharged from the hospital to continue her recovery at the PZC facility in Dordrecht, Netherlands.

A statement on her website confirmed that she will be moved to the Daan Theeuwes Center in Woerden. The facility specializes in treating people between the ages of 16 and 35 who suffered a severe acquired brain injury.

“At the PZC Amy has had good and loving care. Together with Amy, they have worked hard to be allowed to move on to the Daan Theeuwes Center,” read the update on Pieter’s website. “This goal has now been achieved. Amy can go to the Daan Theeuwes Center. We thank PZC for this and are happy that Amy was able to achieve this goal together with them.

“At the Daan Theeuwes Center, Amy will continue to work even harder and focus more on her recovery. We are hopeful that Amy can also show great results and improvements here.”

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Though Pieters is able to recognize people and understand an increasing amount of what is said to her, she is unable to communicate verbally. She is also using a wheelchair as she is unable to walk.

At the moment, Pieters is spending most of her time at the rehabilitation facility, but she has been allowed to spend weekends at home with her family.

A crowdfunding campaign was launched at the Dutch national championships in June to help raise money to help Pieters in her recovery.

The funds raised have contributed towards her getting a place at the Daan Theeuwes Center as well as providing her family with the finances to install specialist equipment in their home to make her more comfortable.

“The municipality and other authorities can only offer help within the rules if someone fully finished all treatments. Although this is understandable, it also immediately ensures that when we want to take care of Amy at home during the weekends, this is almost impossible,” the update on her website read.

“We are therefore greatly helped and benefit from the necessary help and the necessary aids that Amy needs to be able to be home during the weekends. Think of a special bed, a chair and bed lift, a wheelchair. A wheelchair-car van is also provided. This means that Amy can be picked up and brought back in at the weekend, she can sleep at home and be cared for.