Steven Thorpe was in a terrible car crash at 17. Doctors told his family that he was not going to recover and that they should think about donating his organs. But Steven's father sought the help of a private GP, Julia Piper, and a second opinion.

Speaking about the event, Steven said, "My impression is maybe the hospital weren't very happy that my father wanted a second opinion. I think the doctors wanted to give me three days on the life support machine and the following day they said they wanted to turn it off. I think if my dad would've agreed with tem then it would've been off in seconds. If my parents hadn't asked for the second opinion, and if Julia hadn't been there, I would be here today."

Stephen is now 21 and training to be an accountant. He has had four operations to reconstruct his face. In a statement, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said, "The injury to Steven's brain was extremely critical and several CT scans of the head showed almost irreversible damage. It is extremely rare that a patient having suffered such extensive trauma to the brain should survive."

The Trust added that staff were delighted to see the progress that Steven had made.