I never had any fear of mountain climbing. I’ve been doing it with my boyfriend, Dave Pearson, for 10 years. Climbing Carrauntoohil was a challenge. But on May 23rd, I fell 25 feet on the way down from that mountain.
There was a group of 18 of us with a guide. And, as it happened, there was a doctor in the group. My recollection is that I hit a rock on a ledge. I remember absolutely nothing about the rescue. Dave says I fell straight down backwards. He heard a scream. I was lying on another ledge, unconscious, with blood pouring out of my ears. Dave initially thought I was dead and the doctor, John Gallagher, said I had a head injury and he wasn’t sure if I was going to survive.
About 25 people from the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team came. They’re extraordinary. They’re all volunteers. There was no panic on their part, Dave said. Some of them were carrying a stretcher and they put crampons into the rock face for the ropes.
The rescue helicopter never landed. It hovered about 200ft above us and I was winched into it on the stretcher. John was also winched into the helicopter. I could have broken my back, but I feel my backpack protected me.
I have no recollection of being in the emergency department at Cork University Hospital (CUH). I remember being in the high-dependency unit and the pain was as if my body was broken, with my torso feeling particularly so. I had fractured ribs and broken every rib on my left side.
Funnily enough, I had no pain in my head although I fractured my skull and had contusions to the brain. I bled outwards instead of inwards, which I’m told was better. There was no brain damage, but brain injury. I was told I needed rest and time. I also had a fractured pelvis as well as fractures to my vertebrae and to my left hip.
Hallucinating
I was put on painkillers very quickly. I was also on oxygen and on a drip. Altogether, I spent 20 days in hospital; 15 of those were in the high-dependency unit where I was under observation. It was all about the drugs and there was a pain-management team there. At one stage, I was on very strong painkillers and I started hallucinating. It was as if I was sleeping when I was standing up, and there were streamers hanging from Dave’s nose. When I said I was hallucinating, they brought the dosage down.
It was hard to manage the pain. Eventually, an anaesthetic block was put into my left side. My feeling was that everything was under control. The doctors and nurses acted on everything very quickly. I was never neglected. At first, my perception was that the whole thing was going to be awful. Anything on the news about the health system is never good. But for me, it was the other extreme.
What I really noticed was the professional management of the whole place. I was treated as a public patient. I never thought I’d say this, but we have a great healthcare system. One of the consultants said to me that in nine months’ time, I would look back and it would all be like a bad dream. The doctors could see my progression. Every week, I felt an improvement.
I was asked if I wanted a counsellor, but I didn’t feel the need for one. I have loads of counsellors around me. I’m a very lucky person with my friends and family. I met a young nurse who I said was like my guardian angel.
I was sad leaving the hospital because it was like a safety net. I felt protected there. It was like being in a bubble.
The physiotherapist is concentrating on getting me back on my feet and getting my body moving, and is being led by my consultant. For a time, I thought I’d never walk again but I’ve gone from using a walking aid to a wheelchair, to two crutches and, now, just one crutch. Because of my left hip, the physiotherapist had to teach me how to use the wheelchair and the crutches without weight-bearing on my left side.
Naturally positive person
I’m going to start hydrotherapy at CUH soon. It’s for my muscles and my bones. For the pain, I use anaesthetic patches at night.
I feel that because I was very fit before I had my accident, it has stood to me. I did a huge amount of walking and Pilates. Now, it’s a case of managing my time productively.
I don’t want to be in a situation where I’m feeling sorry for myself. I need to be positive and I’m a naturally positive person. But I’ve had a few days where I’ve been on the phone to Dave saying I’m never going to be the same again. He turns it around and makes me laugh. It’s inevitable that I have down days, but they’re nothing major.
I was advised not to work until the latter part of this year. I’m a self-employed beautician, and I work part-time as an administrator for an insurance broker. I’m anxious to get back to using my brain.
An orthopaedic consultant said he wants to get me back to where I was. I asked him if he’d get me back to Carrauntoohil. He said: “Maybe not, but I’ll get you back up on Patrick’s Hill.”