Peta Richards was thrown from a scooter while on holiday in Bali

Peta Richards, her husband and their two young sons were six weeks into an extended trip to Bali after she spent two challenging years of working as a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms Richards was travelling on scooter to get her son a birthday present.

She was then thrown from the scooter.

The 36-year-old sustained critical head injuries, including bleeding on the brain and a fractured skull.

She underwent emergency surgery in a local hospital in Denpasar before being medically evacuated to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne nine days ago.

Ms Richards is now in an induced coma.

Her best friend, Rachel Berben says the scooter trip has “completely changed the entire course” of Ms Richards and her family’s life.

“It’s just completely horrific in that split second their whole life was completely flipped upside down,” Ms Berben said.

“It still feels like a really bad nightmare and she’s just going to walk through the door, or like wake up from it. It’s just really hard.”

Ms Richards’ parents, sister and husband Matt have been by her bedside while she’s been in hospital.

The family have been splitting time between the hospital and caring for the couple’s two young sons.

Ms Richards is known by family and friends as a mother who always wanted to give her children the best life she could.

“Just knowing she’s never going to have the life she’s had before, potentially, or it’s going to be a long road to get back to something like that with her boys,” Ms Berben said.

“She is the most selfless, caring, wife and mother, friend. She would just be there.”