Man who snapped leg in cliff diving accident feared he would 'never walk again'

A man has been airlifted to hospital after he broke his leg in a cliff diving accident.

Harris was preparing to jump from the rocky outcrop on the River Feshie near Aviemore after a day’s white-water tubing with his family.

He should have cleared the rocks easily but a stumble during the run up saw him strike the jagged cliff face on his way into the deep water.

Harris said: “I felt my leg break as it smashed off the rock. As I plunged headfirst into the deep water, I worried I would never walk again.

“I knew instantly that I was in trouble as I hit the water.

Harris was moved to a point of exit further downstream. SCAA

“I fought my way to the surface and shouted – help, my leg, it’s snapped, it’s snapped.

“I knew that my leg was smashed but could feel no pain. I was terrified I might never walk again”.

Family members, instructors and other bystanders stood on the banks of the river and witnessed the accident.

They immediately called emergency services and jumped in to the water to the aid the injured swimmer.

A multi-service response was mobilised to the scene, involving Scottish Fire and Rescue Service water rescue experts, Scottish Ambulance Service, Mountain Rescue and HM Coastguard.

A Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance was dispatched with a specialist doctor-led trauma team.

Rescue teams cut through the injured swimmer’s wetsuit to reveal a bleeding open fracture. He was floated onto a rescue raft and his leg was placed into a splint.

An exit point was identified downstream and Harris was floated to the spot where others joined to help place him on a stretcher.

He said: “I was told the air ambulance was coming and I felt a huge sense of relief when SCAA arrived.

“They bring such reassurance and comfort and a sense that everything will be ok.

“I was a bit overwhelmed to be honest – all these people turned out for what was a silly mistake on my part. Everyone was absolutely wonderful and the teamwork to rescue me was just exceptional.

“I was pretty out of it by then on painkillers but not so much that I didn’t realise the difference SCAA was making”.

“I had heard the chatter about infection and blood flow and, as I discovered later from the hospital doctors, SCAA’s speed and efficiency probably helped save my leg.”

Harris was airlifted to the Aberdeen Major Trauma Centre. SCAA

Rescuers had safeguarded the nerves in Harris’s leg – stabilising the limb and ensuring he reached hospital as quickly as possible.

“If the nerve had severed or the journey had taken hours by road, I could have had irreversible damage – perhaps even had to have my foot or lower leg amputated”, Harris said.

“I truly believe that without the care everyone showed at every stage – but primarily the doctor and paramedic team with SCAA and the speed of their airlift – I would have faced a very different outcome.”

The injured swimmer was airlifted Aberdeen’s Major Trauma Centre in 35 minutes where he received vital intravenous antibiotics and limb-saving surgery.

Following two operations, the insertion of a rod into his tibia, stitches and skin grafts, Harris is expected to make a full recovery with full mobility in his injured leg.

Harris added: “It’s been a lengthy process, but the prognosis is great.

“But I often think when I’m visited by the night terrors – what if?

“What if SCAA and her expert crew hadn’t been there that day? I sometimes torture myself with that thought and I vow to do something in the future to raise funds and support the charity that was so crucial to my rescue. I want to help ensure SCAA is there for the next person and gives them the same care and opportunity to make a full recovery.

“SCAA is an invaluable service. I really don’t know what I would have done without them. It would have been a truly isolating and even scarier experience without them by my side during what was undoubtedly the most difficult time of my life.”