'We are so grateful'

A dad-of-four has thanked the Scottish Ambulance Service after he was involved in a crash which resulted in him breaking 33 bones and leaving him a quadriplegic.

Luke Louden, of Whauphill, Wigtownshire, has thanked Frazer Erskine, Stranraer Station, Sarah Howatson, of Andrea Hamilton, both of Newton Stewart Station, and ScotSTAR team James Henderson, Cheryl Logan, Frank Westerduin, and Wayne Auton.

The accident happened on August 13 as the dad-of-four was driving in his car. He was about 300 yards from Whauphill.

The 31-year-old said: “The road is quite uneven being built over marsh land. I lost control, hit a tree and was thrown down into a field.”

The horror crash resulted in Luke dislocating his left shoulder as well as fracturing his fibula and tibia.

He added: “I sustained several other injuries but they were the main ones dealt with at the scene. On arriving at the hospital, it was discovered I had also sustained incomplete damage to my spinal cord at C7 T1, leaving me a quadriplegic.”

The Scottish Ambulance Service dispatched several resources to the scene, including an air ambulance crew.

He said: “I cannot express fully the thanks I have for the crews who attended my crash. They were highly professional and their efficient treatment saved my left leg, which I had to have operated on and a fasciotomy performed. As a family we are extremely thankful.”

Luke said his recovery has been “slow and painful” and added: “I have struggled with Allodynia,
which means the slightest breath to an area causes severe pain. It’s been a steep learning curve, not to mention all the medication I now have to take and the side effects many of them come with.

“While in the spinal unit you have a lot of time to think about negative things like ‘why me?’, ‘what have I done to deserve this?’ and loads of pointless negative thoughts, but thankfully I had my faith which has given me great comfort.

“Not only getting to grips with the change to my lifestyle has been hard but the separation from my wife and four young children has been almost unbearable. I have missed birthdays, seeing our son learn to stand and take his first steps.”

Despite missing out on some key milestones, Luke said there was one important event he managed to get home for, his son’s first birthday on the 18th of December.

Luke has set up a Gofundme page which can be found here. https://gofund.me/30b7157c. Already, more than £7,200 has been donated.

He added: “My recovery is extremely slow. It’s been eight months and I’m still getting used to everyday living but with a lot of help from my wife and family, I’m slowly getting used to being a quadriplegic and knowing this is me for life. So please donate even if it’s only a pound, it could potentially change my life.”