Caitlyn's Story

As a keen horse-rider, 15-year-old Caitlyn couldn’t wait to finish school and take her pony Mickey for a gallop down the St Combs beach.

It was a clear February evening when Caitlyn and her friend Georgia decided to race their horses down their local beach near Fraserburgh.

“We had just been in the sea with our horses before we decided to gallop down the length of the beach,” Caitlyn reflects.

“My horse Mickey can be quite wild…he suddenly started acting hyper and began bucking. When he dropped his neck that’s when I fell over the front of him.”

Caitlyn rolled from Mickey and landed face-first in the sand. When she awoke, her friend, and both their mums, were crowded over the teen, visibly upset.

The group couldn’t see any detectable injury on Caitlyn, but when she sat up and asked her mum, Carolyn, if she was at home in bed, they knew they had to call for help.

Carolyn recalls the terrifying moment she realised her daughter wasn’t moving after her fall. She says: “When I seen her lying face-first in the sand unmoving, I didn’t know if she was alive or not.

“By the time I reached her, she had sat up and was asking if she was at home sleeping.”

The group were a good distance away from the nearest car park and road when the accident happened. A local paramedic arrived moments before Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) was able to land on the beach close to the scene.

SCAA airlifted a specialist doctor-led team alongside a SCAA paramedic to assist Caitlyn. The crew worked alongside colleagues from the Scottish Ambulance Service, HM Coastguard, and Police Scotland.

Due to the inaccessible location, and nature of the incident, Caitlyn was airlifted to the Major Trauma Centre in Aberdeen in around 15 minutes.

“They put a warm foil blanket over me,” Caitlyn points out.

“My dad came running down the beach at that point. He was trying to act calm, but I could tell he was nervous.

“They then strapped me onto the stretcher and put headphones on me to communicate with me throughout the journey. And they also gave me a teddy, which I still have.

“I remember flying over Aberdeen and seeing the sunset through the window.”

Caitlyn was struggling to recall certain information after hitting her head in the fall.

After being airlifted to hospital care, doctors examined her to ensure there were no other serious injuries.

“The doctors told me I was very lucky,” Caitlyn says.

“I was advised to take breaks from school as I was getting tired easily, and I would often get headaches after the accident. I still get really tired and need naps sometimes.”

Caitlyn was soon back to feeling like herself, and it wasn’t long before she was riding Mickey again. The pair even raised £600 together by completing SCAA’s 100 Miles in October challenge. Caitlyn, Carolyn, and Georgia recently visited the crew of Helimed 79 to meet the team who airlifted her and present her fundraising efforts to the charity.

She said: “I just wanted to help and give something back.

“I always said to my mum; ‘You’re never going to actually need the air ambulance, what are the chances’. But then it was me that did in the end, and I never expected to ever need it.”