Following weeks of surgery and recovery, Molly Burton left a Victoria-area hospital and arrived back home Tuesday to begin months of healing at her home in the Comox Valley.
The 24-year-old suffered critical injuries last month to her lower right leg and right arm when she was struck by a vehicle on Comox Road as she walked home. She laid in nearby brush for several hours before being found.
Burton's mother Leslie Wells said Molly will be able to continue healing at home for a couple of months before starting the next round of surgeries.
She added Molly will need some equipment to manage at home, with equipment that was installed throughout the past weekend.
Following a series of bone, skin and muscle grafts to her right leg and arm, Burton admits she "can't really wrap my head" around what lies ahead.
"It hurts a lot. The weight of the cast is incredibly heavy, and everything really depends on if the muscles graft and everything takes … I have to relearn how to bend my arm. I'm only allowed to bend my arm a couple of centimetres in each direction.
"I haven't seen my leg yet, but there's some brutal scarring," she noted last week.
Wells explained the family is excited to be able to come home, although they are "absolutely terrified to leave the support of the medical team at the hospital."
After she was struck, Burton remained in a blackberry bush for approximately four hours until Brody Fullerton heard her screams for help.
Fullerton, who was on his boat across the water near the Courtenay Airpark, took out his flashlight and examined the brush, thinking someone might have been lost.
He took his bike and searched the bushes for Burton's voice, and found her about 45 minutes later.
Wells said Molly is especially excited about her plans to meet Fullerton in person.
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The 16-year-old Comox Valley teen identified as the suspect in the hit-and-run is scheduled to make his first appearance in court Dec. 12, charged with failing to stop at the scene of an accident and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
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