Kate's story

helimed181.co.uk/CaseStudyOne.aspxKate is 28 years old and lives near Launceston. She is doing a degree at Plymouth College of Art and Design and to supplement her income, teaches horse riding and schools horses. She is a qualified riding instructor and has been riding for 14 years.

Saturday 1st November 2008 was much like any other day for Kate, but it wasn’t to turn out that way. Kate was helping a friend who had a horse for sale, and was presenting the horse to prospective new owners. Kate remembers sensing that the horse was not acting normally that morning and was quite excitable instead of being calm. In the schooling arena Kate mounted up and she remembers the horse started bucking straight away but Kate managed to stay on. Then without warning the horse reared bolt upright, smacking Kate in the face causing her teeth to go through her lip and giving her a hard knock above her eye. Kate says she felt disorientated and could feel her mouth filling with blood.
 
Kate remembers falling and landing in the sand, and although she wasn’t worried, she checked her limbs only to find she couldn’t move her leg. While some onlookers went for help, the horse galloped around and Kate thought she was at risk of being trampled. The pain in her legs and lower back suddenly became much more severe, and Kate knew she was in trouble, and the effects of shock started to take over. Blankets were found to keep Kate warm and still, but by this time everyone knew the air ambulance was on its way.
 
Soon the local first response paramedic arrived, and was able to give Kate some drugs to relieve pain, and put a neck brace on her. Kate recalls it was difficult for them to assess the damage to her legs because of all the layers of warm clothing she was wearing! The paramedics suspected serious pelvic and spinal injuries may have resulted from Kate’s fall, then Kate recalled the moment she saw and heard the helicopter approaching.
 
She could hear the paramedics discussing the nearby power lines, and then Kate realised they were going to land the helicopter in the schooling arena next to her, even though it seemed such a small space for the pilot to negotiate. The Air Ambulance paramedics log rolled Kate onto a stretcher, and she remembers how they explained everything that they were doing first. Once inside the helicopter, Kate saw lots of controls and buttons above her head, and sky out of the window and she was disappointed that it was her first ever helicopter ride and she couldn't even appreciate the scenery! It took less than five minutes to get to Derriford Hospital.
 
X rays revealed that Kate had fractured vertebrae in-between her shoulders and that she needed a CT scan, which uncovered a further 3 vertebrae at about waist level. Kate spent three days in hospital and nearly six months in recovery at home taking things easy and keeping out of the saddle.
 
 When Kate wrote to us at the charity office, she said “I have the utmost respect for all the people that helped me from my friends and paramedics, to the doctors and nurses at the hospital but especially the air ambulance crew. I would like to express my thanks and gratitude to all of them who helped me on that day”.
 
The Cornwall Air Ambulance attended over 45 incidents last year associated with horse riding, which is a very popular spare time hobby in a rural county like Cornwall. The charity is grateful for all the fundraising help organised by riding schools and equestrian businesses throughout the year.
 
For more information on organising a fundraising event contact carolb@cornwallairambulancetrust.org

 

You can now make donations online

Just Giving   Virgin Money Giving

There are plenty of other ways to help.
Read here about other ways to help your Cornwall
Air Ambulance, help them today, you may need them tomorrow.


Kate, riding her own horse, not the horse involved in her accident