Angel Lynn’s mum has told how her daughter “tries so hard and she doesn’t give up” after taking her first steps since her kidnap and falling from a van at 60mph.
Angel was left needing round-the-clock care after being found on the carriageway of the A6 near Loughborough in September 2020.
Her former boyfriend Chay Bowskill is serving a 12-year jail term for kidnap, coercive and controlling behaviour, and perverting the course of justice.
Bowskill grabbed her off the street and forced her into a silver transit, driven by his accomplice Rocco Sansome, of Birstall, Leicestershire.
Angel is now defying doctors’ expectations with her recovery and her mum Nikki has spoken of her daughter's determination as she took her first steps.
“You could see it in her eyes, how hard she was trying. She was shaking all over and her left leg kept getting stuck, but she was focusing with every bit of strength she has,” said her proud mum, reported the Mail.
“Anything Angel sets her mind to, she does. She tries so hard and she doesn't give up. And she did it. I could not be prouder.”
Since the accident Angel has needed to use a wheelchair and undergone physiotherapy to build up strength in her limbs and relearn basic tasks.
The process has involved regular stays in hospital and complications that has reportedly led to a priest reading her the last rites on three occasions.
Angel is based in a rehabilitation centre and her fighting spirit has seen able to take a few steps and she can also write with the aid of an iPad and wave.
“She is communicating more and more. I know it won’t change things but I’m hoping one day she will speak and tell me what happened,” Nikki previously told The Sun.
She may not yet be able to talk but she is able to express herself.
"You can see it in her eyes. If she finds something funny she'll make a noise and her shoulders will lift. She went to her friend's 21st birthday the other day, and we've taken her to the pub," said Nikki.
A Channel 4 documentary followed Angel's recovery and it revealed that her family is hopeful she may yet be able to remember and communicate the details of what happened in the run-up to the kidnapping.
C4’s Will Rowson, who commissioned Kidnapped: The Angel Lynn Story, said: “Angel and her family have been so brave, choosing to share their story in the hope it will help others.”