The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Doc walked off hill after breaking her back
A doctor who broke her back in 12 places in a Perthshire mountain fall walked off the hill, was driven 70 miles home and fed the dog – before going to A&E.
Ashley Simpson also fractured several ribs after slipping on Ben Lawers and only cheated death by hitting a boulder which stopped her fall.
But the 27-year-old from Edinburgh had no idea just how badly injured she was and even smiled for a picture taken by her boyfriend, Robbie McNally, as she lay in the snow.
Helped by Robbie, she then walked for more than two hours back to their car.
It was only when she walked into the A&E at her own hospital in Edinburgh that colleagues realised how badly she was hurt.
She spent eight days in hospital following the accident in March and has only just returned to part-time work.
Ashley said: “We were 15 minutes into our walk back down from the summit when I slipped on some hidden ice and my feet went from under me.
“Once I was sliding, I couldn’t stop. The snow then stopped and I fell for what must have been 25 metres at a 45 degree angle. It was only a boulder that stopped me from falling any farther.”
She added: “It turns out I had 12 fractures in my spine and lots of broken ribs but I didn’t realise at the time. I just wanted off the mountain. Most people wouldn’t have been able to move but the adrenaline helped me walk the two-and-a-half hours back to the car.
“I ended up in hospital for eight days and had to have five people log roll me off the bed because I couldn’t move myself.”
Hospital staff had said she would be back to normal in four weeks but she has only recently got back to work on reduced hours and thinks it will be closer to a year before she is fully fit again.