The road to recovery will be slow and intense for a 16-year-old girl who was involved in a serious motorbike accident in February.

Bermuda High School for Girls student Ashley Aichlmayr must undergo extensive facial and dental surgery that may take several years to conclude as a result of her injuries.

?I have three mettle plates in my cheek,? she said. ?I broke my upper jaw and dislocated it.

?I am missing five teeth.

?I broke my eye socket so they took a piece of my cheekbone and fused it into my eye socket.?

Ms Aichlmayr will also need teeth implants where her five teeth were knocked out.

A local charity plans to help the teen with the cost of the reparative surgeries and Island doctors have already made strides toward restoring her appearance.

?We will provide all the funding we can that is not covered by insurance,? said Lynn Baras, organiser of the charity ?Sarah?s Friends?.

The charity was founded to help fund surgeries needed by 11-year-old Sarah Webb, who has type one Neurofibromatosis, which causes benign tumours.

Now they are reaching out to others in need, such as Ms Aichlmayr.

Ms Baras said: ?Funds are set aside for Sarah because she may need continued support but we realised we had the capabilities to help others so we are also helping Ashley.

?The generosity has been great from donors.?

Fellow students and teachers have also rallied around the injured teen.

?My teachers have been very supportive,? Ms Aichlmayr said. ?They gave me time to catch up on the work I missed.

?My hospital room was filled with flowers and cards.?

The surgical work Ms Aichlmayr will require is still being determined.

?As the doctors look at her each visit, we know what has to be done,? said her grandmother Lynetta Fisher.

?We do not know how long everything will take.

?She just got her braces off about a year ago and will now need them again.?

Dr. Bruce Lattyak and Dr. Laidlaw Fraser-Smith performed the surgeries that Ms Aichlmayr has received so far.

Ms Fisher praised the doctors and the medical care her granddaughter has received in Bermuda.

?Dr. Lattyak and Dr. Fraser-Smith did a good job of putting her back together.

?I am also very pleased with the care she got at the hospital. If I did not feel confident with the care she was getting I would have taken her away.?

Ms Fisher said already the progress has been dramatic.

?There is an amazing difference between before the surgery and when they brought her down from surgery.?

She described how swollen Ms Aichlmayr?s face was and how after surgery she looked more like herself.

The doctors performed internal surgery to avoid scaring.

The surgeons went in through the teen?s eye socket and mouth to perform the reconstructive surgery.

All Ms Aichlmayr recalls of the accident is driving down the street and waking up later that evening.

Ms Aichlmayr said: ?The last thing I remember is driving down Victoria Street.

?I cannot think of any reason why I would have turned to go down Cedar Avenue because I was heading to the doctor and would have just kept going straight along Victoria Street.

?When I woke up they told me that they were trying to find a bed for my grandmother. I was confused.

?There were rumours at school that I was dead,? she added.

When asked if she felt confident braving Bermuda?s roads again, Ms Aichlmayr said: ?No, but eventually, I need to get a bike.?

?Sarah?s Friends? will be holding a walk on April 18 to raise money for Sarah and Ms Aichlmayr.

It will begin at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel and end at Victoria Park.

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