Beth's story

In May 2012, 13-year-old Beth and her friend were on their way to sign up to ambulance cadets in Uxbridge when they decided to climb over a fence and take a shortcut.

“I remember standing on top of the railings and jumping down,” said Beth. “But I landed on my hands, with my left leg still up in the air.”

Calling to her friend to help release her leg, Beth’s friend tried to come to her rescue, but what she actually found, was that the metal railing had gone straight into Beth’s thigh.

Two bystanders saw the girls struggling and came to help hold Beth up, while someone else dialed 999.

“I remember begging them to take me down,” said Beth. “I didn’t realise the severity of the situation at all.”

The metal railing had gone through Beth’s muscles and ligaments, the worry was that it may also have gone through a blood vessel. While the spike remained in her leg, it was almost impossible to tell whether this was the case or not.

First responders attended the scene, including the London Fire Brigade (LFB) and London Ambulance Service (LAS) paramedics. The LFB decided they couldn’t cut the railing while it was embedded in Beth’s leg, with fear the vibrations could do her more harm. It was at this point that London’s Air Ambulance’s advanced trauma team was requested.

On their arrival they found Beth’s leg still impaled, with her body being supported by the LFB and LAS teams. Although she had already had some painkillers, it was obvious that she needed to be sedated to allow the LFB to safely and humanely remove her from the fence. The team proceeded to do this as well as applying a tourniquet at the ready just in case Beth started bleeding heavily once she was free.

Once freed, the team were able to fully reassess Beth and establish that it was unlikely the spike had gone through her blood vessels. This needed to be confirmed in hospital, as well as ruling out potential nerve damage. Beth was therefore flown to the nearest major trauma centre for further treatment.

At hospital, her wound was washed out, cleaned and sewn up. After five days, Beth was able to return home but was immobile for months.

“I was unable to move until the end of that summer and didn’t go back to school until the following year.

“It was really hard and it really knocked my confidence. Before the incident I was a strong runner, regularly competing and doing well. I was hoping to grow up to be a professional runner.

“If it had never happened, I would be a completely different person now for sure.”

Thankfully though, Beth did make a recovery and went back to school. Now, many years later, she is working down in Brighton and living a full life. In 2024, Beth reached out to London’s Air Ambulance Charity, with the request to run the London Marathon in aid of the charity.

“Years later, I now see just how lucky I am. Running a marathon is something I have always wanted to do and it is amazing to get the opportunity to do something for those who helped me. I wanted to give back.”

Beth’s leg is healed, but she still feels a different sensation in comparison to the other. The skin across the wound is tighter and sometimes she struggles to fully trust herself when running. But she is training well and looking forward to April 2025.

“I can’t run as well as I used to, but I’m just trying hard to get there. Training is going well – I’m just hoping for good weather now.

“It’s nice to be able to look back at that day and almost celebrate it. It could have been a totally different story. There’s only one air ambulance team looking after London, it’s strange to think that on that day they came to me.”

We are so happy to share Beth’s brilliant story and cannot wait to watch her cross the finish line in April. If you're interested in running for our life-saving charity, please browse the upcoming events here.