The story of the Sinclair family is one of the unconditional love of parents for a child; of selfless commitment; of faith and hope in the face of overwhelming odds.

John and Jean Sinclair came face to face with every parent's worst nightmare when, 32 years ago, their eight-year-old daughter Angela was thrown from her bike in a road accident. She suffered terrible head and facial injuries and was in a coma for 23 months. When she finally came round, it was cruelly obvious that this was a very different Angela.

She was virtually written off by the medical experts. However, John and Jean fought to help her to survive and did all they could to try to bring back something of the Angela they had known. The people of Bradford, generous as always, raised funds to help them pay for 4 years of special treatment that included three trips to the United States. And after a court case the Sincairs won £72,000 - then thought to be enough to last for the rest of Angela's life.

Angela has beaten all the odds. She will be 40 in March. The compensation money long ago ran out. Her quality of life is low by most people's standards but she has had 32 years of love and her parents have had 32 years of a very special relationship with her.

The Sinclairs' story shows how unwise it is to write anyone off. It also makes a good case for compensation settlements being reviewed when the life expectancy of victims of accidents surpasses all expectations, as has happened in Angela's case.