Horror ski crash victim from South Yorkshire is reunited with surgeon who saved her life

By Robert Cumber

News editor and reporter

Published 8th Feb 2025, 07:02 GMT

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This is the heartwarming moment the young victim of a horrific skiing accident is reunited with the surgeon who saved her life.

Olivia Corbiere, from Aston, Rotherham, just over the border from Sheffield, was left in a coma after crashing down a ravine during a skiing holiday in Bulgaria last March.

The popular 23-year-old suffered a bleed on the brain, a broken pelvis and three fractured verterbrae, and was given just a five per cent of survival.

Olivia Corbiere with Dr Nurfet Alioski, the neurosurgeon who saved her life after a horrific skiing crash in Bulgaria left her in a coma, with a five per cent chance of survival. Less than a year later, Olivia, from Aston, between Sheffield and Rotherham, was back on the slopes during an emotional skiing holiday with her family. — Olivia Corbiere with Dr Nurfet Alioski, the neurosurgeon who saved her life after a horrific skiing crash in Bulgaria left her in a coma, with a five per cent chance of survival. Less than a year later, Olivia, from Aston, between Sheffield and Rotherham, was back on the slopes during an emotional skiing holiday with her family. | Contributed

Olivia Corbiere with Dr Nurfet Alioski, the neurosurgeon who saved her life after a horrific skiing crash in Bulgaria left her in a coma, with a five per cent chance of survival. Less than a year later, Olivia, from Aston, between Sheffield and Rotherham, was back on the slopes during an emotional skiing holiday with her family. — Olivia Corbiere with Dr Nurfet Alioski, the neurosurgeon who saved her life after a horrific skiing crash in Bulgaria left her in a coma, with a five per cent chance of survival. Less than a year later, Olivia, from Aston, between Sheffield and Rotherham, was back on the slopes during an emotional skiing holiday with her family. | Contributed

But she has made a remarkable recovery and recently headed back to the ski resort in Bansko to bravely take to the slopes on which she nearly lost her life a little under a year ago.

During their holiday, Olivia and her family took time out from skiing to visit the hospital in Sofia where she was taken after the crash and meet the neurosurgeon, Dr Nurfet Alioski, who saved her.

Describing the visit, Olivia’s mum Linzi said: “Emotional day today going back to the hospital. All your messages and love for Liv got us through sitting on those horrible stairs.

“Seeing the neurosurgeon who saved Liv has finished off this holiday perfectly. When we told him Liv had been skiing he was amazed. Thank you Dr Alioski.”

‘Don’t waste a single day’

Linzi also shared a video of Olivia skiing, accompanied by the message: “If you’re ever feeling down look at this girl. Pick yourself up and don’t waste a single day.”

Linzi described the holiday as a chance to ‘make some happy memories and hopefully get rid of some of the bad ones’, while ‘filling in the gaps’ for Olivia, who remembers nothing of the days following the crash, and thanking a lot of ‘very special people to us’.

She told The Star: “We have had an amazing time and both Olivia and Phoebe (Olivia’s sister) skiing was just amazing.

“We visited the crash site which was very emotional but we did it together as a family and got to meet our translators who we remain good friends with, Bobbi and Lupo who own the ski shop that helped the girls out immensely.

“And the icing on the cake was seeing Liv’s neurosurgeon in his busy schedule.”

Sheffield Rotherham South Yorkshire Skiing

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