TV show reveals dramatic rescue of Gillian Whiteford after a fall at Bempton Cliffs. Yorkshire Air Ambulance rushed her to hospital.
Gillian is from Paisley, Scotland, and was visiting the East Yorkshire coast. The show airs tonight at 9 PM on Really and details her emergency rescue.
Gillian, 66, hiked with her husband at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, an area famous for birds. They hoped to see puffins. The path was narrow and muddy.
Gillian slipped and fell suddenly, hearing a crunch and experiencing sharp pain, and her ankle looked badly broken. Her husband called 999 for help right away because the location was hard to reach.
Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) responded fast. Paramedics Andy Armitage and Tom Chatwyn flew from RAF Topcliffe. A helicopter was the only way to reach her, flying quickly to the coast.
Gillian said she looked forward to the walk but never expected to fall, and the pain was awful after the fall. Seeing the helicopter brought relief. She is grateful to the YAA team and their skill that helped her so much; she will never forget their help, assessing her injuries quickly.
Gillian lost feeling in her foot, which worried the team a lot, as it could mean blood flow problems; they needed to straighten her ankle fast. They gave her medicine for the pain, where ketamine and gas helped quickly, and then worked with the Coastguard to move her.
Andy realigned her ankle expertly, and the vacuum splint stabilized her injury. They put her in a warm bag and then loaded her into the helicopter.
The helicopter flew her to Scarborough Hospital, a 17-mile trip that took seven minutes. She had a bad ankle fracture and dislocation. Surgeons used plates and screws to fix it, and now she recovers with physiotherapy; it will take months to heal fully.
The TV show reveals YAA’s lifesaving work. The episode shows more rescues by YAA, including a stroke victim, a horse rider, and a biker.