Martha's Story

She was the last person 80-year-old Bill would ever have wanted to hurt. But in a freak accident, he lost control of his automatic car and ploughed into his wife Martha as she stood nearby.

The impact threw her into the air before she fell and rolled several times on to the tarmac, severely injured.

As neighbours rushed to help, the car smashed on through two gardens before coming to rest.

Martha remembers nothing of the accident, but Bill recalls the horror of the crash and the part Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance played in the race against time to get Martha from Peterhead to critical care at Aberdeen’s Major Trauma Centre.

“She was obviously very badly injured,” said Bill, “with blood pouring from a head wound and damage to her body and face. She was highly agitated and difficult to control and the road ambulance crew which arrived said she needed to be calmed down.”

A Trauma Team then arrived – effectively bringing the A+E department to the accident scene - and they decided to call in an air ambulance.

SCAA scrambled from Aberdeen and landed at a nearby sports ground.

“After sedation, Martha was taken to the helicopter and she was in ARI less than 15 minutes later,” said Bill. “That speed, stability of aircraft and the expert level of service helped save Martha untold trauma.”

Martha was kept in an induced coma at the hospital’s high dependency unit for two days. She had suffered three fractures to her pelvis; a fractured spine, cheek and nose; bruising on the lungs and two separate bleeds on the brain.

“Getting expert medical help to her so quickly and getting her into the hospital in a matter of minutes was undoubtedly a key factor in supporting Martha’s life,” said Bill. “They’ve ensured she’s with us today and that’s a blessing we can never repay.”

Five months on, Martha has made a remarkable recovery and she’s helping Bill put the trauma of their darkest day behind them.

“We just want to help SCAA where we can,” she said. “It’s the most wonderful service and we’re happy to try and raise some support for them among friends and business contacts.

“SCAA helps keep families together and that’s a wonderful service for those who fear they may lose loved ones when illness or accident strikes.”

Now Martha and Bill hope to travel to SCAA’s Aberdeen airbase to meet the crew who attended her that day and thank them all personally.

“We can never thank them enough for being there for me and showing such care,” said Martha. “Although I don’t remember anything of the incident and the aftermath, I know I was in the best hands possible and that is hugely comforting.”