A WOMAN has described the moment her legs were straightened at the roadside following a head-on crash on a major road as the "most painful" experience of her life.
Sarah Richardson-Kane, from Thirsk, had gone out to buy ingredients to prepare dinner for her family when she was involved in a crash on the A167 between Thirsk and Northallerton in 2012.
Mrs Richardson-Kane, 31, said: “I’d come home from work to make my tea and forgot that I needed breadcrumbs to make the fishcakes, so I decided to go over to mums to grab some as she only lives a few minutes away in the next village.”
The next thing Sarah said she can remember is waking up in the front of her car with the fire service cutting the roof off.
"I remember my mum saying you’ve been in an accident, just keep calm and don’t touch your legs. I immediately touched my legs and I could feel huge dints in my thighs, I couldn’t move my feet," Sarah added.
The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) arrived on scene and gave Sarah advanced critical care at the roadside including strong pain relief, before airlifting her to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough where she stayed for over two weeks.
It was discovered Sarah had suffered two femur fractures and had pins and rods in both legs from her hips to her shins as well as a broken nose.
The mother of two said: "I remember the doctor saying we’re going to have to straighten your legs now. It was the worst and most painful experience of my life.
“I have had kids with no pain relief and that was worse even with all of the drugs they gave me.
"My nose was cut underneath, so it had to be stuck back together. I remember I went to wipe my nose and it lifted off my face. My husband passed out when they glued it.”
On waking up in hospital, Sarah said she recalls how bad her pain was and that she had what she describes as scaffolding holding her together.
Sarah said: “It took me the best part of a year to walk again and I still say now that I waddle and look like a penguin.”
This year, Sarah is taking part in the Great North Run for GNAAS. Ten years after her accident, she says that she is marking the anniversary with this challenge and will then be moving on with her life.
Sarah added: “I still think about the accident quite a lot.
“My outlook on life and death has changed. I don’t fear death anymore and I believe in making every day count.”
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