A Perthshire grandfather says he owes his life to Scotland’s only charity air ambulance crew.
Robert Fotheringham fell critically ill while working at the remote Loch Earn Caravan Park, which he runs with his wife Hazel.
By the time the SCAA helicopter arrived on the scene, the 55-year-old was having a full-blown heart attack.
The crew said it was crucial to get him to hospital as quickly as possible.
It was just a half-an-hour ride to Ninewells by chopper, compared to a one-and-a-half hour journey – about 60 miles – by road.
“I owe them my life,” he said. “Without SCAA, I might not be here today.
“I had a heart attack about 10 years ago, so I knew what could happen. The ambulance crew were quickly on the scene and wasted no time in calling in the air ambulance.
“Everyone played their part in getting me to hospital as quickly as possible and I can’t thank them enough. I don’t have words for what they all did for me that day.”
With nowhere to land at the caravan park, the ground ambulance transferred Robert to the nearby open area at Crieff Hydro’s lochside water sports centre.
Crews then worked together to get Robert safely aboard the Helimed 76 and on his way to hospital.
After some life-saving surgery and a five-day stay at Ninewells, Robert has made a steady recovery and has started fundraising for SCAA.
The family held a series of charity events at the caravan park and raised £1,700.
More than £300 of this was made by Robert’s five-year-old granddaughter Kayla who sold some of her outgrown or unwanted toys at the caravan park shop.
She said she wanted to do something to show her gratitude to the people who rescued her “Grumpy”, as she calls her granddad.
“I love my Grumpy and I wanted to say thank you to the people that saved his life,” she said. “They need pennies to make their helicopter fly.”
Robert and Kayla visited SCAA’s Perth Airport base with Kayla’s parents Laura Fotheringham and Chris Wilson to hand over a cheque.
Paramedic Craig McDonald said: “It was a race against time for Robert and SCAA was just one of the emergency response resources which worked together that day to get him to advanced hospital care as quickly as possible.
“We’re just glad SCAA was available to fly to his aid when every second counted.”
He added: “Kayla is an absolute star selling her toys to raise money for the charity. We’re really appreciative of every penny that people raise to keep the service in the air.”
