Against the odds

(Photograph) - AGAINST THE ODDS: A Bradford University student who had a brush with death is this week celebrating the degree she thought she would never get. Linguist Amanda Wilson contracted meningitus while in Paris during the third year of her degree. She suffered a stroke and remained in a coma for weeks.

Flown back to Britain, the 23-year-old's parents were told Ms Wilson would remain in a vegetative state. But she recovered and has, with the help of a speech therapist, slowly relearned to speak and write. Left partially sighted, Ms Wilson persisted in her degree, and this summer was awarded a 2.1.