Herald AM girl Aline Barros, who was the victim of a hit-and run while she was cycling to work, is struggling under massive medical bills and is worried she may lose her apartment.

Brazilian Aline was injured when she was knocked off her bike by a truck. She desperately needs assistance after doctors told her she would never walk again.

"After the accident, some of the Brazilian community had a party but this money is nearly finished," she said. "I'm so worried, it's so difficult. It's difficult to get money for rent, food, tablets."

Every Thursday, Aline (27), who is paralysed from the waist down, goes to Dun Laoghaire for physiotherapy, but says that she feels two or three days a week would serve her better.

Suffering

"I have a lot of pain in my leg, I have chronic neuropathic pain and it's worse in the night. I have to sit up while I sleep, the pain is so bad," she said. "I've asked about getting a medical card, but I can't because I'm not European."

Aline's mother Sylvia has travelled over again from her home town, Minas Gerais, in Brazil within the last month.

"The pain was getting really bad, I was suffering a lot. So my mum said that she would stay with me," said Aline. " I would cry all the night, the pain was so severe. She is staying with me to give me some comfort. She is good company, but it's very cold for her here and she has arthritis and osteoporosis."

Aline has decided that she would like to stay in Ireland for the foreseeable future, with better medical facilities and access for wheelchairs.

"If I stay here, it would be best for me. I can have a good life, something that is better than in Brazil," she said.

"In Brazil it would be more difficult to get around. Here, most things are accessible by wheelchair. My mum doesn't have a lot of money. My home in Brazil is small and there isn't the space for me. We don't have the money to buy another house."

Aline said that she is is waiting to hear further news about how the investigation into the accident is progressing.

"I remember everything about the accident," she said. "It was early in the morning, just after 6.30am. I was beside Christchurch Cathedral.

"I was beside the path when the traffic lights changed. The truck turned left. The front wheel of the truck hit me. I stayed under the wheels and protected my head, but the last two wheels hit my back, then I was rolling away."

Determined

But the brave young woman is determined to go for further treatment in August.

"I'm not angry. I'm sad. Life is changed. It is a bad life, but it is a different life," she said. "I still try to stay positive.

"The doctors say that my legs are better, but that I will never walk again. But I believe in God. I will walk. I know it will be slowly, but I will, I will. Never say never," she added.

Aline's friends hope to organise another fundraising venture for her and donations may be made to Aline Noguiera de Barros AIB account 07636182, sort code 93-32-95.

- Claire Murphy