‘They say I’m fortunate not to recall anything’
She wanted to play the piano. Six months after the deadly train crash at Tempe, she had just returned home. However, her fingers refused to bend to touch the keys. Even now, despite improvements in her mobility, the lingering effects of the injuries and the prolonged stay in intensive care persist. For Myrsini Prassa, music is a way to express herself, and during the time she was sedated, it served as the main stimulus connecting her to the outside world.
Following the collision, she spent 45 days intubated in the ICU of Larissa General Hospital. Inside a sterilized bag by her side, her family had placed a cellphone containing all her favorite songs, ranging from Metallica to Bryan Adams. They had asked the nurses to play the playlist nonstop throughout the day.
“If the accident hadn’t occurred, I would have pursued my music theory degree. I’ll attempt it again later,” says the 22-year-old from her home in Thessaloniki. A year later, she can barely recall anything from that fateful night. Upon her release from intensive care, the circumstances surrounding her injury were unknown to her, as the specialists advised against immediate disclosure of all information to her.
‘I spend time with my friends, and I’m finally able to cook. Previously, I couldn’t even grasp utensils, let alone remember how to use them’
Months later, during her rehabilitation, she learned that she had been on the passenger train that collided head-on with a freight train on the night of February 28, 2023. However, she couldn’t recollect who she was traveling with. It wasn’t until last October that her relatives informed her of the tragic loss of her best friend, 28-year-old Elpida Houpa, one of the 57 victims of the crash. Myrsini still speaks of her in the present tense. “Elpida enjoys sitting by the window, gazing out during our travels,” she says.
The only fragment she can muster from that journey, if her memory serves her right, is a fleeting moment, a vague sensation akin to a jolt, followed by a reflexive glance at her friend, before everything went blank.
“I try to remember, but I just can’t. Perhaps it’s for the best,” Myrsini says. “They say I’m fortunate not to recall anything, as some are haunted by sleepless nights.”
After the accident, she underwent multiple surgeries. According to her mother, Eleni Toulkiaridou, the 22-year-old suffered serious head and brain injuries, a fracture in her left hand, torn ligaments and multiple knee injuries. After approximately 40 days, Myrsini finally opened her eyes. “We weren’t certain if she could see us, if she was aware of our presence, but it was a promising sign,” Toulkiaridou recalls.
Upon her release from intensive care, they were informed that it would be at least two years before she could regain functionality, and she would likely experience learning difficulties. “She lay in bed like a child, unable to move anything. I’d adjust her head, only for it to fall back again,” her mother recounts. “From that point on, with a lot of work and determination on her part, we moved forward.”
Myrsini was discharged from the hospital in May. She spent subsequent months in rehabilitation centers and returned home in the fall. It felt like starting over from scratch. “She struggled to say ‘glass,’ unable to recall the word, and resorted to showing it to me. She was essentially learning from scratch,” her mother describes.
Through immense perseverance, her daily life has seen improvement, particularly in recent months. “I spend time with my friends, and I’m finally able to cook. Previously, I couldn’t even grasp utensils, let alone remember how to use them. My friends have been my constant support,” Myrsini says.
