Warning over dangerous pavements after Thurso woman (81) falls and breaks wrist
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A walk to the supermarket turned into a painful ordeal for an 81-year-old Thurso woman when she broke a wrist and sustained a head injury after tripping on an uneven pavement.
Aileen Sutherland is now keen to urge other pedestrians to be careful, warning that some footpaths can be as much of a safety hazard as potholed road surfaces.
She says she knows of people in their eighties and nineties who are "frightened to go out", adding: "I want to point out how dangerous everywhere is – not only the roads."
At the same time, Mrs Sutherland was full of praise for passers-by who immediately came to her assistance and to the A&E staff who looked after her when she was taken to Wick by ambulance, calling them "first class".
She is recovering at her home in Carnaby Place, Thurso, with her right arm in a plaster cast, bruising around her face and several stitches in a forehead wound. "I've got two black eyes and my nose got a knock as well," she said.
Mrs Sutherland had gone out before 2pm on Friday to do some shopping at the town's Tesco store. Having crossed the Ellan Bridge, she was approaching the traffic lights on the Springpark side of the A836 when she lost her footing.
"I was going along quite the thing and I didn't have that far to go to get to the traffic lights," she explained. "The next thing I knew I was on the ground. I landed on my hand and hit my head – I just went down."
Mrs Sutherland had felt her foot going against a ridge: "It definitely was a hole and there was a whole lot of stones round about too."
A passing van driver stopped and went to check on Mrs Sutherland before calling for an ambulance.
"He came down to me first to see if I was fit enough to lift. Well, I wasn't," she said. "But I wasn't out, and I knew where I was when he asked me.
"The next thing, three ladies stopped and they must have been with me for 15 or 20 minutes. They were all so nice.
"I couldn't get over all these people stopping and me sitting there. I think that stopped me from crying or getting too nervous."
An ambulance came within 15 minutes and another arrived soon after. The second ambulance took her to Caithness General Hospital where she was seen straight away by A&E.
She spent about five hours there before being allowed home.
"In the hospital in Wick they couldn't have been nicer or kinder," Mrs Sutherland said. "The doctor was on the go the whole time, cracking jokes and making me feel I was having a laugh.
"The nurses were all over me. It was really, really attentive. It was out of this world.
"Up here I know that we're better off than Inverness or Aberdeen or anywhere."
Mrs Sutherland's husband John was with her throughout her time in hospital.
Mr Sutherland (79), a retired North Sea oil worker, said: "It's terrible, the state the roads and the pavements are in."
His wife also broke her glasses in the fall.
"She was lucky in that sense that the glass didn't go into her eye," Mr Sutherland said. "That could have happened."
She is due to have a check-up in hospital later this week and hopes to have her stitches removed next week.
Mrs Sutherland, who used to work in local hotels, says she is being "well looked after" at home while she recovers.
"I can't do much," she said. "John cooks for me and brings me cups of tea."
Mrs Sutherland pointed out that uneven pavements can cause problems for those using pushchairs and buggies as well as for older people.
She added: "I just want to let people realise that the pavements are bad."
Highland councillor Matthew Reiss said: "It's not just car springs getting broken by our roads but people too.
"I've known Aileen for many years and it's upsetting to hear about her fall. I hope she recovers well from these horrible injuries."
