Mark's Story

One minute Mark was enjoying a motorcycle ride through some of Scotland’s most spectacular scenery – the next he was catapulted through the air, bounced along the tarmac and smashed against a crash barrier, sustaining horrific injuries.

As passing motorists on the well-known Rest and Be Thankful roadway rushed to help, Mark could see his beloved motorcycle lying broken and tangled in the crash barrier 30 metres away. Shrapnel-like pieces of the metalwork had flown past him or struck his helmet as he landed.

“I felt I couldn’t breathe,” he recalled. “Pain was starting to creep in to various parts of my body and I was aware my clothes were covered in the fuel running down the hill towards me. I was crushed against a barrier that had stopped my flying over a sheer drop. There was only its metalwork between me and certain death.”

Mark’s motorcycling buddy was busy stopping the traffic and calling the emergency services as others – including mountain rescue personnel who had been nearby – tried to keep the injured rider safe and comfortable.

“I could see blood and couldn’t move my legs,” he said. “I was aware that one of my boots was facing the wrong way which looked bad.”

Mark was unaware of the multiple injuries he had suffered and how serious they were. And with a tailback of traffic stretching for miles in both directions, a road ambulance would have difficulty getting through to him.

SCAA, however, was already in the air and heading Mark’s way.

The helicopter landed on a cleared section of the roadway and expert paramedics were soon tending to Mark’s injuries.

“They were 100% looking after me – what a special team of people,” said Mark. “I was a little hazy with the pain but I remember being anxious about going in a helicopter as I suffer from claustrophobia – even though that seemed the least of my worries!

“SCAA’s crew was great,” he added. “They kept my spirits up, reassuring and calming me and ensuring my pain was at a bearable level at all times.

“Within minutes we were landing on the rooftop helipad at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and facing the start of a long period of treatment and rehabilitation.”

Mark sustained a broken femur, a shattered kneecap, ruptured hamstrings and a major deep wound at his Achilles. He has promised his wife his motorcycling days are over.

“As a motorcyclist I now know first-hand the very vital role SCAA plays in Scotland,” he said. “When you are seriously injured or ill in the middle of nowhere, these guys are your best hope of survival – there’s few others could reach you in time.

“I’ll always be grateful for what SCAA has done for me – they picked up the pieces after a horrendous accident and helped ensure I will enjoy a full recovery eventually. My riding days might be behind me but I’m glad my motorcycling friends have a service like SCAA in the air to look out for them.”