Kate's Story

Kate couldn’t have known when she was abseiling from the roof of Murrayfield Stadium for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance’s (SCAA) biggest ever event, that the service she was fundraising for would be airlifting her just four days later.

“I was driving home down a straight main road near Banff, travelling at around 50mph, when suddenly a campervan pulled out of a junction straight in front of me,” Kate, 50, recalls.

The campervan was instantly knocked fully on its side, and the front of Kate’s truck had caved in from the sudden impact.

“I was very relieved when the people in the campervan got out okay,” she says.

“As I exited the truck to have a look at the damage, it hit me that I was actually in a good bit of pain and I needed to sit down.”

Kate, who works as deputy head teacher at Turriff Academy, was experiencing pain in her neck and chest following the collision.

Thankfully, a newly qualified off-duty paramedic stopped to help.

“She sat in the back seat and held my head to stabilise me,” Kate reflects. “I didn’t know what was wrong with me, but I knew it was the top half of my body that was really hurting.”

Police Scotland arrived on the scene followed by land ambulance crews. Shortly after that, SCAA landed close to the accident. The SCAA crew worked closely with colleagues from the Scottish Ambulance Service to assess and care for the patients at scene.

“The SCAA crew put me at ease,” Kate adds. “They were very thorough in their checks. I remember a paramedic called Matthew helping me throughout.

“I just couldn’t believe the irony of having to need the service I had just been fundraising for a few days before.”

The patient was carefully transferred to a stretcher with a vacuum mattress. Without a scan, it was difficult to know the extent or severity of Kate’s injuries. Meticulous care had to be taken to carefully package her into the awaiting SCAA helicopter, including the use of head blocks to maintain proper neck alignment to prevent any further injury during transport.

She was safely delivered to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary by SCAA in just 15 minutes, saving a lengthy journey of over an hour by road.

“When we got to hospital, I remember Matthew stayed with me until we got to resus,” says Kate. “It was so reassuring to have one person from the scene stay with me all the way into hospital.”

By this stage, Kate admits the adrenaline was wearing off and she welcomed a dose of morphine to help with her pain levels. She was then taken to receive a CT scan and more tests before it was concluded that Kate had suffered a fractured sternum and severe whiplash to her neck.

About a month later, Kate was able to return to work and shortly after she was back horse riding. She admits the recovery took a long time to heal and that she now suffers from anxiety when driving but she’s very grateful for the help she received.

“The SCAA crew were calm, with a good sense of humour, and it was clear they knew what they were doing,” she points out. “Everything was so quick and professional.

“Where we live it’s an hour on the road to Aberdeen…the difference a helicopter can make is massive.

“I considered SCAA my chosen charity before this accident because I do endurance horse riding and I ride on my own a lot in very remote areas. I knew if I ever got into trouble that SCAA would be able to reach me when a land ambulance couldn’t. But I didn’t expect to have need of them for this type of incident.”

Kate is a SCAA lottery player and sells vegetables and plants from the end of her garden in return for donations to our life-saving charity.

She says: “I hope to see and support SCAA again in the future at another charity challenge but certainly not for another call out!”