Caitlin Sharpe’s story will feature on tonight’s episode of Yorkshire Air 999
A Hull teenager suffered multiple injuries after a crash on a remote woodland trail. The final episode of the TV series Yorkshire Air 999, which airs tonight, follows the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) team as they responded to the incident.
19-year-old Caitlin Sharpe had been out riding with her dad and boyfriend when she came off her bike at around 27mph and she hit the ground face-first. Her dad quickly rushed to a nearby house to call 999 and her boyfriend stayed with her.
A land ambulance crew attended the scene and were worried by Caitlin’s reduced level of consciousness. The team requested critical care support from the Yorkshire Air Ambulance medical team.
Paramedic Stew Ashburner-McManus and Paramedic Fiona Blaylock, part of the YAA’s Topcliffe-based crew, were dispatched and joined he land crew on a narrow trail around five miles from the nearest road. Fiona and Stew found Caitlin conscious but not speaking, responding only with eye opening and movement to commands.
Her Glasgow Coma Scale score was 11 and she showed clear signs of a head injury. As a result, the team carried out a focused neurological assessment to establish the extent of her symptoms.
Stew said: “Given the speed she’d come off her bike and how limited her responses were, we were worried about how much her brain had been affected. In cases like this, you start thinking ahead about whether a patient may need to be placed in a medical coma to protect their brain from further deterioration.”
The crew were concerned that Caitlin’s reduced responsiveness might mean she could soon struggle to maintain her airway. The team had to prepare for the possibility of performing a Rapid Sequence Induction (RSI), the procedure used to place a patient into a medically induced coma to protect their brain.
An RSI can only be carried out by a doctor, so the team at the scene urgently requested the doctor-led critical care team from the charity’s Nostell Air Base to attend. While they waited, Fiona and Stew began preparing Caitlin for their arrival by moving her off the trail floor and onto a scoop stretcher, making any onward transfer or medical interventions easier.
Just minutes later, the Nostell crew arrived, with Dr James Sen and Paramedic Tom Chatwyn making their way to the scene thanks to the help of a local groundsman who drove them part of the way up the woodland track in his pickup truck. Thankfully, Dr James reassessed Caitlin and found her condition had improved.
She was now able to give short answers and her Glasgow Coma Scale score had improved. Dr James said: “Caitlin hadn’t been responding earlier, but by the time we arrived she was able to answer our questions. That improvement was reassuring and showed us that her brain was receiving enough oxygen, meaning we didn’t need to put her to sleep.”
Caitlin’s injuries included a deep facial laceration, chest abrasions from the impact and suspected spinal damage. The teams at the scene worked together to stabilise her, as well as manage her pain. She was flown to James Cook University Hospital in a seven-minute flight.
Caitlin spent three days in hospital, where scans revealed multiple fractures including her jaw, nose, finger, and a T7 spinal fracture. She is now recovering at home and despite the seriousness of her injuries, Caitlin is determined to return to the sport she loves.
Caitlin said: “I’ve got a fractured jaw in multiple places, a broken tooth, damage to my tongue, several small fractures in my nose and a T7 spine fracture with ligament damage. There was blood all over my helmet, inside and out, and it definitely saved my life that day. I’m doing much better now and hope to be back on my bike very soon. I’m incredibly grateful to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance crew and everyone who helped me.”
Caitlin’s story will be told on the final episode of the current series of Yorkshire Air 999. The show airs on Really and discovery+ tonight (Friday, November 21) at 9PM.