The magpie that saved a family

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Sam Bloom suffered a near-fatal fall when on a family holiday in Thailand in 2013. The accident left her paralysed from the chest down and in a deep depression. But help was to come from a very unexpected source. The family discovered an injured and abandoned magpie chick which had fallen from its nest near their home. The process of nursing the bird back to health enabled Sam to come out of her darkest days, and helped the family to heal. Matthew Bannister spoke to Sam and her husband Cameron about their life before the accident. Image: Sam and Cameron Bloom, their children, and Penguin the Magpie Credit: Cameron Bloom