Journalist wins 'Woman of Substance' award

by Amanda Harper and Samantha Haines
BBC News, Leeds

Lisa Salmon, pictured before the crash, said there was "no point moaning"

When Lisa Salmon was nearly killed in a car crash and left virtually blind, she thought it would be the most painful experience of her life.

But she was hit by tragedy again a year later when her two-day-old son suffocated after Lisa accidentally fell asleep feeding him.

A potentially fatal illness and a miscarriage followed within the next year.

But whilst Lisa, who has just been named "Woman of Substance" by novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford, says she is "not the luckiest person in the world", she says she has always chosen not to waste time on feeling sorry for herself.

The 42-year-old, from Horsforth, Leeds, said: "Probably one of my greatest gifts is my ability to just be able to accept things and I have always just accepted that it happened and it's the way it was.

"There's just no point in moaning, it just doesn't serve any purpose."

Lisa's attitude has led to her award from Leeds-born Taylor Bradford, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the author's debut novel, A Woman of Substance, in 1979.

Lisa, a features writer for the Press Association, was almost killed when her car was crushed by a lorry in January 2001, near Skipton.

'I've so much to be grateful for'

She suffered a brain injury, was left scarred and virtually blind but slowly recovered.

She became pregnant and in January 2002 Lisa and her husband Mark celebrated the birth of their first child, Connor.

Two days later Connor died when Lisa fell asleep after breast feeding him in a maternity ward bed.

Lisa said her son's death was "much harder" to deal with than the injuries she had suffered in the crash.

"You should never say that the worst thing in the world has happened to you because you would have thought the accident would be the worst thing that could possibly happen and then losing Connor was like a physical pain, it was just so awful."

Lisa and Mark went on holiday to Lanzarote as they tried to come to terms with their son's death.

But during the holiday Lisa was rushed to hospital when it was discovered she had a potentially fatal blood clot in her leg.

Connor died in Leeds General Infirmary in 2002

After spending a week in hospital the couple returned home and soon afterwards Lisa became pregnant again. But in the early stages of the pregnancy she suffered a miscarriage.

The couple never gave up hope of having a family and Lisa later gave birth to two sons, Joel, now five, and Christian, three.

Lisa said: "I have had people over the years say that I am an inspiration and I just think why because I feel like I haven't done anything other than just get on with it.

"I have lost my sight and my looks but I have got a great husband and gorgeous kids so it's not that bad really is it?"

Presenting her with 'Woman of Substance' award, Taylor Bradford described Lisa's life story as "amazing".

The prize includes lunch in New York with the author and a luxury cruise.

She said it was "flattering" to win, adding: "There's part of me that just thinks why me? I am not worthy."

She added: "It's nice that people might think that and the thing is if it means that people hear what's happened to me and perhaps feel a bit better about themselves... then perhaps some good will come of it too."