Adrienne's Story

A walk in the hills took a dramatic turn for Adrienne when a simple slide rendered her completely immobile - and miles from anywhere.

"My foot slipped on the wet grass and I heard this horrendous crack," she recalled. "I crumpled to the ground in agony, knowing I had broken something."

What Adrienne didn't know was that her ankle had snapped and had turned through 180 degrees, leaving her lying helpless with a limb-threatening injury more than 1,500 ft up the West Lomond Hills.

Luckily, hair stylist Adrienne from Larbert was walking with her partner Davie and two friends at the time and they immediately called 999.

The emergency services then activated a tracker on Davie's phone to locate the accident scene.

As they comforted Adrienne and tried to keep her warm, the group was relieved to learn a Mountain Rescue Team had been called in but knew they faced a hazardous stretcher carry down the rugged hillside.

"Then we heard an air ambulance had been called," said Adrienne. "By this stage I was cold and a little in shock but still calm and comforted by the fact that help was on its way.

'It didn't seem long before I heard the helicopter approach and I remember thinking - everything will be OK now."

Content there were now enough people on scene to move Adrienne, the emergency services stood down the Mountain Rescue Team as SCAA landed on a flat area above the group and paramedics immediately swung into action.

"One look told us we were dealing with a serious break," explained SCAA Lead Paramedic John Pritchard. "One that could prove limb threatening if left untreated for too long."

SCAA then set up a temporary "bothy" shelter to protect Adrienne and the paramedics from the elements.

After administering strong painkiller, paramedics realigned Adrienne's foot to restore blood flow and splinted the joint before she was carried by crew, friends and passers-by to the waiting aircraft further up the hillside.

"The paramedics were amazing," said Adrienne. "So calm and professional. They explained everything they were doing to me in detail to keep me reassured and comforted.

"They told me it would hurt so I just kept breathing in the Entenox and I was fine while they worked on my ankle."

Adrienne was flown to Ninewells Hospital at Dundee within minutes where she spent two days undergoing an operation to reset her ankle.

She had no sooner recovered than she was striding out again - this time with some friends to raise funds for SCAA, securing nearly £4,000 on her sponsored canal walk.

Reflecting on the day of her accident, Adrienne is full of praise for the charity team that flew to her aid.

"I honestly don't know what I would have done without SCAA that day," she said. "The charity provides a vital service in Scotland and I can't thank them enough for what they did for me."