A Scots mum who was left paralysed from the waist down after crushing her spinal cord in a horror motorbike crash vowed to walk again for her five young sons. Tracey Mitchell was riding solo when she lost control and was thrown into woodland on a remote country road near Ballater, Aberdeenshire, in June 2021.
After being briefly knocked out, the 50-year-old managed to call 999 but lay undiscovered for 40 minutes as ambulance crews struggled to find her amongst the trees. She told how she felt ‘instant relief’ after seeing Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance hovering above her before being rushed to hospital in Aberdeen.
The former school worker was then transferred to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow where she spent the next six weeks learning to walk again. She is now set to take part in Aberdeen’s 3.7k Kiltwalk on June 4 with her sons Rhys 23, Dylan 21, Ethan 18, Zach 17, and Xander 14 - who inspired her to keep fighting.
Tracey, from Tarland, said: “When I landed, I damaged my spinal cord. It contracted which stopped me from being able to feel anything from the waist down so I couldn’t move or walk.
“I’m a very, very positive person though and I just thought ‘No. Watch this space. I’m going to be up on my feet in no time’. Obviously you’ve got down days but the hospital was fantastic.
“They were so supportive but the majority of the time I was positive. I just said 'no I’m going to do this'. I had to for my boys.”
Recalling the day of the accident, the mum-of-five said: “It happened on a road I know like the back of my hand but for whatever reason, it all went a bit Pete Tong that day. I flew off the bike and landed in the trees.
“I was slightly knocked out when I first hit the deck but when I came round, I realised I couldn’t move. I couldn’t have told you if my legs were still attached to my body at that point because I just couldn’t feel anything from the waist down.
“My mobile phone was in my inside pocket with two zips in the way. I was hoping it wasn’t broken but I eventually managed to get it out after God knows how long. I called 999 but the ambulance road crew couldn’t find me because I was so far off the road.
“Because of the trees, no one driving past could see me. The longer it went on, I was getting a bit panicky. Your adrenaline is going but then the pain starts kicking in. After 40 minutes, I saw the chopper above me and it was just instant relief.
“They were absolutely fantastic. They got me on a stretcher, gave me some meds and before I knew it, I was being flown away to hospital in Aberdeen within minutes.
“As soon as I came out of the hospital, I knew I wanted to give the aircrew something back because they’re obviously a charity. Without them, I could’ve been lying there for an awful lot longer and it would have taken the road ambulance crew a lot longer to get me to the hospital.
“I’ve still got problems with my legs. Every time I bend my knees, it feels like there’s a tight elastic band around them so my walking still isn’t very good. That’s why I’ve decided to do the 3.7km Kilt Walk because I’m not fit to do the long one.”
To donate to Tracey’s fundraiser for Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance, please click here.
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