Deb Findlater
Date of incident - 04/10/07
Time - 11.00am
Location - Crowborough
Deb Findlater is a keen horserider and it was when she was out riding her horse, Jasmine, in 2007, that she required the assistance of the Air Ambulance. Deb had just finished riding together with her friend, Jan, was attempting to get Jasmine back into the horse-box. However, the horse was reluctant to do what she was told and suddenly, and without warning, swung round and knocked Deb down.
As Deb fell she smacked the side of her face on a large stone sticking out of the ground. The impact knocked her unconscious as well as causing broken teeth, an eye injury and a gash in her mouth. Jan immediately called for an ambulance and, to keep Deb's brain alert, sang nursery rhymes whilst they waited!
Within 8 minutes of receiving the call, the Air Ambulance crew were at the scene and assessing Deb. They spent 45 minutes with her on the ground before they were happy to move her. It took them just 12 minutes to get to the East Surrey Hospital in Redhill, not the nearest hospital but the most appropriate one for her injuries. Deb remembers very little about the incident, but does remember regaining consciousness in the helicopter and being constantly re-assured by the crew.
We met Deb in January 2008, and were pleased to see that she is recovering well from the incident. She is riding again and, although she suffers from headaches and still has teeth and eye problems, she feels she was lucky to escape with relatively few injuries. She said ‘I am so grateful for what the crew did that day. I cannot thank them enough, they are brilliant people’. Her friend Jan who helped throughout added ‘from when the helicopter landed to when it took off, the Air Ambulance crew were so thorough and efficient’.
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