It had been a rough month for twin sisters Trixie and Milena Trimil. A friend's birthday outing to a theme park had gone disastrously when a roller coaster on which the twins had been riding had catastrophically malfunctioned, sending them tumbling out of their car into the path of another.

Trixie had been arguably more badly damaged but less permanently so. She had numerous broken bones resulting in all four of her limbs being in casts. She had dull, off-white fibre cast long casts on her left arm and right leg, and similar-coloured short casts up to her right elbow and left knee.

Her sister Milena, however, had been unluckier, if anything. While she had not suffered any breaks, her slender left leg had been sliced off by the careering roller coaster car at the midpoint of her shin. Her right hand and left upper arm were also bandaged, but not as heavily nor as thickly as the stump of her left leg. Trixie felt bad for her sister who was now an amputee, but assured her that, even though she was now missing a leg, they were still twins.

On this day, however, they twins were determined to enjoy themselves. It was the start of a new month and therefore they felt that their luck should turn. The previous day, Trixie had been to the hospital and had been fitted with solid rubber walking heels on her casts (a red one on her left short leg cast and a green one on her right long leg cast). She could also manage to hold a single underarm crutch with her right hand, despite its short arm cast, and so was feeling quiet confident to be mobile again.

Milena was still using crutches as she wasn't going to be able to get a prosthetic leg for at least another few months while her stump healed, but she was now much more used to getting about on these as she had been previously.

The twins had therefore decided to go into town and go clothes shopping. Milena had even managed to make a joke about buying single shoes half-price.

It happened as they were passing a row of parked cars that were perpendicular to the street in designated bays. Milena had just crutched between a car to her left, with the road beyond that, and a wall of a building to her right, when an out of control car came hurtling down the street. It clearly had some issue with its brakes not working and seemed unable to stop. It smashed into the back of the car which Milena was passing in front of, sending it jolting towards her. She had nowhere to run, and couldn't have moved quick enough on her crutches even if she had. The parked car slammed into her right leg at mid shin level, pinning her against the wall and crushing her shin bone between the front of the car and the unyielding brickwork.

Milena howled and Trixie screamed in shock and panic, and help soon came running. The emergency services were called and Milena, who had mercifully passed out due to the pain, was freed from the wreckage.

Trixie was comforted by a paramedic as Milena was loaded into an ambulance, her mangled leg splinted as best it could be. The paramedic had some disturbing news for Trixie; based on the severity of Milena's injury it was highly likely that she would lose her right leg too, almost in the same place as her left one. Trixie was distraught for her sister as she followed the ambulance in the paramedic's car as they raced towards the hospital.

The ambulance zipped along the road, weaving in and out of the traffic with its sirens screaming and lights blazing. On reaching a busy crossroads, the ambulance driver decided to go straight over even though the traffic lights were on red. Most vehicles heard the ambulance approaching and stopped or got out of the way, but unfortunately one heavy haulage truck didn't manage to stop in time. It was coming from the road at right angles to the path of the ambulance, and so was passing from right to left when the ambulance tore through the junction. The heavy lorry swerved but skidded and ploughed forcefully into the side of the ambulance, knocking it off its wheels and causing it to roll over and over.

Trixie screamed as she saw the accident happen in front of her, knowing that her badly injured sister was in the back of that ambulance. The paramedic halted the car and, after telling Trixie to stay put, rushed over to the scene of the collision.

It was not until some while later, with the helicopter air ambulance just lifting off from the sight; that the paramedic came over to Trixie with bad news. Poor Milena's arms had been both been broken, with the hand and wrist of her right arm being completely crushed in the impact. It was likely that, as well as now certain to lose her right leg below the knee, Milena would also lose her right arm from the middle of her forearm. Trixie wept for her sister as she was taken to the hospital by the paramedic, who explained that Milena would be rushed into surgery as soon as the helicopter landed there.

Once Trixie arrived at the hospital she was told that Milena was already in theatre undergoing surgery. Trixie had one of the most anxious waits of her life, not knowing what was happening to her sister as various doctors and nurses rushed about, not seeming to know what was going on.

It was not until many hours later that a very senior-looking doctor came to talk to Trixie.

"Miss Trimil?" the doctor began.

"Yes?" Trixie answered nervously.

"I am afraid I have some very bad news" the doctor began.

"She's not… dead?!" Trixie shrieked.

"No, no…" the doctor said. "She's had the surgery… I'm afraid we had to amputate her right leg at mid-shin level. Her lower leg bones were just too badly crushed."

Trixie nodded.

"Her right hand and wrist were also beyond saving" the doctor continued. "We had no choice but to amputate her arm as well… however, here is the unfortunate part. I have no idea how this happened and a full investigation is taking place. The matter is already with the hospital's solicitors… and insurers… but… I'm afraid a mistake was made during surgery. The wrong arm was amputated. Once the mistake was realised there was no chance of re-attaching it I'm afraid; and I'm sorry to say they, of course, the correct amputation had to be carried out as well. She's lost all of her three remaining limbs – her leg from mid-shin and both arms from mid-forearm. I'm so sorry."

Trixie was in shock. "Can I see her?!" she managed to blurt out.

"Of course, she's conscious now. We've explained the situation to her, and we promise she'll get the best care possible from now on."

Trixie was shown into a hospital room where Milena was sitting up in her bed. She had red eyes from crying but there were no tears in them now.

"Hey" she said weakly.

"Hey" Trixie answered. She looked at Milena's limbs; all four of which now ended in thickly bandaged stumps. "I… I don't know what to say" she stuttered.

"Nor do I" Milena confessed. She looked helplessly at her bandaged stumps.

"Hey, Trix?"

"Yeah?"

"We're still twins, right?"