A Fraserburgh caravaner has heaped praise on local paramedics after a slip down at the Broch coast almost “snapped him in two”.
Callum Mitchell, 52, from Lanarkshire, had to be airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary after he broke four bones in his back while on a weekend holidayin Fraserburgh.
A fall on the rock armour while out on a stroll by himself from the caravan park meant that Callum was left stuck for three hours face-down, with no-one to help.
A pointed rock had struck him near the base of his back which he feared could have paralysed him.
With the North Sea waters slowly washing over him, he was fortunate that his wife’s uncle eventually found him to call the emergency services for help.
Police, ambulances and coastguard then all assisted with getting Callum on to dry land and into hospital.
Speaking to The Press and Journal, he said he was in “incredible pain” after the accidental fall.
He said: “I tried to shout for help, but there wasn’t anybody there that could help or hear me.
“The pain in my pelvis was just so intense that I couldn’t move. I have never felt anything like that in my life before it was so intense.
“It turns out I’d broke four of the fins on my spine.
“I got a CT scan and some X-rays when I was there but they decided that I was stable enough that I didn’t require surgery.”
Emergency services were ‘outstanding’
Now, following the experience, Callum has heaped praise on the local emergency services who tended to him in a difficult situation.
Afterwards, he was seen to by ARI staff for five days before getting back onto his feet.
The retired police officer then spent the next two weeks with wife Elaine up in the Broch before returning home.
“I was well looked after in the hospital, I really was,” he continued.
“All of the emergency services on the scene were all outstanding, the hospital staff as well it just took a while to get the pain under control.
“I’m absolutely beyond grateful for the help they all gave me – they were all outstanding, everyone last one.
“I had got myself in a position, where I was out of the water, but I couldn’t get up – but without them doing what they did nobody else would have got me out there without stabilising my back.
“If any of my vertebrae had been damaged and I moved, my spine could have been severed and I would have been paralysed.
“But if I was another centimetre or two further away from where my back hit, it would have snapped me in two.
“It really was a challenging rescue for the emergency services.”
Callum vows to take more care over rocky surfaces
Now Callum says he will be more careful while traversing tricky surfaces.
He added: “I’m just relieved that I’m here to tell the story and that I’m able to talk about it. It could have been so much different.”
“I’m off my crutches now and I’m walking about with a stick but I still get a bit of pelvic pain.
“But psychologically I’m fine, physically I’m getting there.
“I’ll definitely not be going near the rocks again – that’s for sure! I think a career in rock-climbing is behind me!”