A man whose organs collapsed after a horrific forklift accident has thanked the ambulance service for saving his life.
Gordon Taylor, 55, was crushed against a wall at a Fife paper mill after a colleague operating the machine accidentally struck him.
The Cowdenbeath man suffered horrendous injuries during his two-and-a-half-hour ordeal last year, including a broken leg and hip, a ruptured bladder and five fractures of the pelvis.
His urethra was also torn off his bladder and his kidneys were failing.
Wife Davina said her husband was only alive because of the swift response of the ambulance service.
“I would love to say thanks very much,” she said.
“If not for them, he would not be here today.”
The Taylor family have so far raised £1,765 for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) in the wake of the agonising incident at the Sapphire Paper Mill in Leslie in October, and are continuing their fundraising efforts.
Gordon had been contracted to work there as part of his job with a Kirkcaldy-based engineering company.
He was walking through the mill when the accident happened.
“It caught me on the hip, on my left side, and a concrete wall was on the right,” he said.
“I was crushed against the wall.”
With the forklift still pinned against him, Gordon felt his organs collapse.
“As soon as it was moved, I hit the floor,” he said.
“That’s when I realised how bad it was.”
Unable to move and in unbearable pain, Gordon knew he had been seriously injured.
“All the damage was internal,” he said.
“There was no visible sign.
“The next thing I could see was the ambulance arriving.”
Two ambulance crews were dispatched from Glerothes and Leven, as well as an emergency response team, but Gordon was eventually airlifted to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, where he spent three days in intensive care.
He was operated on the following day and later moved to the high dependency unit before eventually being transferred to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.
Gordon said he had thought he was on the ground for around half an hour but later discovered it had been a lot longer.
“I think I was actually there for two and a half hours,” he said.
“Paramedics were there first but I was in that much pain and they could not move me.”
“They saved my life that day.
“The air ambulance was quicker and the transfer time was critical, especially after a few hours on the ground.
“Even though the SCAA wasn’t involved, they rely on public donations.”
Anyone wishing to help Gordon with his fundraising can do so at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gordon-taylor6
