Actress Jessica Falkholt remains in critical condition following the horror Boxing Day car crash that killed both her parents and sister Annabelle, 21.
After undergoing extensive surgery, which also included the removal of one of her kidneys, the former Home & Away actress, who remains in a coma, has a 50/50 chance of survival according to doctors.
If she does wake up, relatives are left not only with the impossible task of telling Falkholt the news that her immediate family is dead, but the possibility she will have suffered brain damage.
“The neurosurgeon spoke to the family (on Friday) and said it could take weeks or months (to find out her condition) because they do not know how much brain damage there is,” relative James Randazzo told News Corp on Sunday.
“He said her brain is like a Ferrari in that you can make everything look all right but you won’t know until you turn the ignition on whether the engine is going to start.
“She may wake up and, if she does wake up, is she going to be a different person? If we get to that point then someone is going to have to break the news to her about the rest of her family.”
Jessica, her sister Annabelle and their parents Lars, 69, and Vivian, 60, were driving home from Christmas celebrations in Ulladulla on Boxing Day when their car had a head-on collision with another car driven by Craig Anthony Whitall, 50, who also died in the crash.
On Friday, Annabelle Falkholt’s boyfriend, Jordan Brohier, took to social media to express his grief.
“The 3 years I knew (Annabelle) were the best years of my life. I’m so thankful for every second I got to spend with my baby,” he wrote. “I just keep hoping that I’ll wake up from this terrible nightmare and see her gorgeous eyes looking back at me.
“Please, everyone, be careful when you are on the roads. You may not think it but a car is a deadly weapon if your mind isn’t 100 per cent concentrating on what you are doing.
“Be mindful of what you are doing when behind the wheel and constantly be aware of others around you too,” he warned.
