“I woke up face down on the floor. I couldn’t feel anything from my shoulders down, and could only wonder how long it would take for someone to find me.”
This was the terrifying experience Diane from Cambridgeshire found herself in, after her horse stumbled and she was propelled headfirst into the hard farm track. Less than a mile away from home, but with no way of notifying her waiting husband.
After enduring 45 minutes on her own, unable to move an inch, finally someone came across her. Diane explains, “I was nervous when he first approached, and begged him not to move me.
“He was a total stranger, but I was grateful for him. He knew exactly what to do— immediately calling 999 and explaining there was space for an air ambulance to land nearby. He gave the exact What3Words location so the emergency services could find us really quickly, and once he found out who I was, he told his father-in-law who knew us and was able to call my husband, Philip.”
Prior to the accident, Diane was a successful showjumper and had been riding horses for many years. It was the day before Diane’s 60th birthday, and with a busy week of plans ahead, Philip thought Diane had been out for longer than expected when he checked the answerphone machine. He never expected to hear a message from a friend telling him Diane had been involved in a terrible accident, and he needed to get there… Fast.
Within a very short time, Philip and all the emergency services arrived—including an EEAST paramedic car and ambulance, and the Magpas Air Ambulance helicopter.
Philip recalls, “I remember the Magpas Air Ambulance medics jumping out and immediately going to Diane.
“I used to serve in the army, and I think that helped me to keep a calm head in that situation. I noticed an insignia on the pilot's uniform. He told me he'd been in the navy and said we were lucky, because the Magpas Air Ambulance doctor on shift was also the head of trauma for Addenbrooke's Hospital.
“After extensive assessment and treating her for her pain, Magpas Air Ambulance Doctor Simon Lewis told me they were going to airlift Diane to hospital. They were worried about her neck and didn't think it would be safe to go by land.”
The hospital confirmed that Diane was paralysed from the neck down. Philip continues, “I remember massaging her lifeless fingers and toes in the hospital as we waited for whatever was to come next.”
Eventually, with a lot of hard work, Diane started to get some mobility back and despite breaking her neck in two places and damaging her spinal cord (which is irreparable) she can live at home with Philip’s care 24/7 and even walk a short distance with a frame.
“Three years on and it's clear I'll never fully recover,” Diane explains. “But I keep working with my physio and I’m making the best of what I can do.”
Philip sums up, “I can still remember Simon, the Magpas Air Ambulance doctor, telling me he couldn’t allow Diane to travel to hospital by road. I can’t think about the consequences if they weren’t there… The alternative could have been catastrophic.
“It’s thanks to their expertise at the scene and swift, careful extrication that’s allowed Diane to get to the point where she is today. Her recovery is a tribute to the Magpas Air Ambulance staff that dealt with her and it's comforting to know we have this terrific service available. We all need to consider contributing what we can to Magpas Air Ambulance. Without them, we would be in a far worse position.”
