Fin's Story

“I somehow managed to fall awkwardly and heard a cracking sound from my right leg – I realised I’d broken it just at the top of my boot.”

Fin, 59, was skiing down a familiar off-piste run in Glenshee when things took a turn for the worst. Despite having skied the same route ‘hundreds’ of times before, a seemingly simple turn rendered him immobile on the side of the mountain by himself.

“At first, I was in denial,’ Fin explains, “I thought I had imagined it or that it was just muscular. But as I skied down six feet, I heard another cracking sound, and I fell. There was movement where there shouldn’t be movement, and I knew my leg was broken.”

With no mobile signal, Fin was left to wait in the snow and hope fellow skiers would appear.

Fortunately, he managed to summon help and was transported to the first aid hut.

Fin, who lives in Arbroath, admits the pain was growing to excruciating levels, despite being administered with gas and air relief.

“The pain was getting progressively worse,” he explains. “I knew the road to Ninewells or Aberdeen Royal Infirmary would take a long time and be a tough route by road.

“So, when I heard that Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance was available to help, I was relieved knowing that I would have a smoother journey and get the medical help I needed in the quickest time.”

In truth, Helimed 76 in Perth is closest to respond to incidents at Glenshee. However, on this occasion, the crew were thwarted from flying to this mission due to unsafe weather conditions on the southern side of the Cairngorms. Thankfully SCAA’s Helimed 79 in Aberdeen was available.

SCAA’s skilled pilot and two paramedics managed to reach Fin despite also facing challenging weather on route.

The patient was carefully packaged into the aircraft after receiving suitable pain relief and transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in under 20 minutes.

A doctor confirmed Fin had fractured his ankle and right tibia in two places. He was kept in overnight and a full leg cast was applied. He remains recovering at home, now with a smaller plaster cast.

He says: “Although my accident wasn’t life-threatening, having SCAA there to transfer me to hospital in under 20 minutes made a world of difference.

“The crew made me feel at ease and they always conducted themselves professionally. I can’t thank the two paramedics and pilot enough for the care and support given to me that day.”