Pam Warren turned a disaster into the most positive thing to ever happen to her.
In October 1999, Pam’s life as a financial advisor was turned on its head when she was involved, and seriously injured, in the Paddington Rail Crash. Two trains collided head on at a combined crash speed of 130mph and a fireball ripped through coach H - the coach Pam was on.
31 people were killed, and 227 were taken to hospital – Pam amongst them. Her injuries were so severe that she wasn’t expected to pull through.
Not only did she pull through, she underwent scores of operations to help rebuild her badly burned body and endured wearing a plastic mask over her face for 23 hours of each day over the ensuing 18 months. She became the public face of the disaster – ‘the lady in the mask’.
Following the crash, Pam became the leading spokesperson for improving rail safety. Her battle saw her lock horns with rail management executives and government ministers. She was dubbed a trouble maker, but in fact her tenacity helped bring about massive changes in rail safety.
Fifteen years on, having suffered a turbulent recovery process which has left a legacy of mental and physical scars, Pam no longer regards herself as a victim – she is a survivor. She uses her experiences to help others who have been affected by disfigurement or burns and has become an inspiration to many.
Building on her skills as a businesswoman, running a successful survivors group and a national campaigner she has now retrained as a Professional Speaker. Her autobiography, From Behind the Mask, published in 2014 and sales continue to grow as more readers seek to know the background to her resilience, courage, and perseverance.