Aberdeenshire teacher airlifted to hospital after suffering heart attack during bike ride

An Aberdeenshire schoolteacher was airlifted to hospital after she suffered a heart attack during a family bike ride.

Steph was enjoying a day out at the Glenlivet Mountain Bike Trail Centre during the Easter holidays when she began to feel unwell.

The Kemnay woman managed to manoeuvre herself off the trail before falling unconscious.

“I was trying to keep up with my eldest daughter on the trails when I suddenly felt really ill,” the 51-year-old says.

“My eyesight became blurry, and I knew I was going to pass out.”

The mother-of-two began to hear voices around her as she regained consciousness.

Steph added: “A member of staff from the centre arrived on a quadbike and I believe he called 999.

“That’s roughly when the pain in my chest started. It then radiated down to my elbows, and I couldn’t feel my hands or open my eyes, it was unbearable.

“I couldn’t move, my arms and legs felt so heavy, and I knew it wasn’t going to be possible for me to get myself up.”

A medical team arrived by land ambulance and conducted an ECG test. They concluded there was an issue with the teacher’s heart.

Steph was transported to a meeting point where paramedics were able to supply pain relief and confirmed that she needed urgent medical treatment.

As the travel by road would clock in at over an hour and a half, a crew from Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCCA) stepped in and managed to lift her into the helicopter.

In just 15 minutes, she arrived at Aberdeen’s Royal Infirmary.

“The SCAA paramedics had warned me that when we arrived at ARI, lots of people would swarm me,” the mum said. “When we landed, I got wheeled quickly into surgery in a big hurry.

“I had a stent fitted to fix a block in my right coronary artery. The whole operation was complete in 45 minutes, and I was allowed to go home after three days.

Steph has since shared her story at charity events. SCAA

“I heard from the cardiologist the following day that I had had a lucky escape, but I eventually found out just how close I had been to dying.”

Since her heart attack, Steph has become a supporter of SCAA.

She is now a SCAA volunteer, regular giver, lottery player, and recently shared her story at the charity’s Operation Skyward launch event held at the Aberdeen base.

Here she was able to reunite with the crew and aircraft that played a vital role in getting her the medical care needed to save her in time.

Steph said: “It’s important for me that others get the same opportunity I did – for SCAA to reach more people in time.

“I didn’t expect to nearly die on a hillside in Glenlivet at the age of 51, that wasn’t part of my plan. My life was hanging in the balance.

“Thank you is not enough, but that’s all I can say. It’s a debt I can never repay.”