Pam Warren (born 16 February 1967) is a professional speaker and author who became known in the United Kingdom as the 'Lady in the Mask' after receiving severe burn injuries in the

Ladbroke Grove rail crash The Ladbroke Grove rail crash (also known as the Paddington rail crash) was a rail accident which occurred on 5 October 1999 at Ladbroke Grove in London, England, when a Thames Trains-operated passenger train Signal passed at danger, passed a s ...

in 1999. She is the founder of the Paddington Survivors Group. She is a spokesperson and advocate for railway safety and the author of From Behind the Mask, a memoir of her life during and after the train collision. On 5 October 1999, the

occurred; thirty-one people died in the crash; Warren was among 419 injured passengers. Her injuries were so severe she was not expected to survive. She was in a coma for three weeks and

skin grafts Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different d ...

were added to her leg, hands and face. She suffered full thickness burns to these areas and underwent numerous operations by plastic surgeons. To minimise scarring, her doctors prescribed a clear perspex mask that she wore over her face 23 hours a day for 18 months. Dubbed by the media as ‘The Lady in the Mask’ this spurred the title of her book From Behind the Mask. She was in the hospital for close to three months. Warren underwent years of reconstructive surgery including over 23 operations and was diagnosed in 2001 with

post traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

. Warren became an ambassador for The Scar Free Foundation Charity based in London, a charity whose goal is to heal any wound without leaving a scar. She also represents and works with the Children's Burns Research Centre in the South West of England and the Sue Ryder Hospice in Nettlebed.

References

External links

Official Website

Interview with Paul Sloane
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, Pam 1967 births Living people British motivational speakers British writers Survivors of railway accidents or incidents