My little life-savers: Paramedic’s pride as sons help save stranded walker on Skye

A PARAMEDIC has revealed his pride after his two young sons helped save a stranded walker in a remote part of Skye.

Danny Kerr, of the Scottish Ambulance Service, was out walking with his sons Euan, 14, and Harris, 10, near Bearreraig Bay when he came across stricken Angus MacDonald.

Mr MacDonald, 61, had fallen on to jagged rocks and had been lying undiscovered for more than 21 hours.

His arm was broken and he was suffering from hypothermia.

They had to scramble more than 300 feet down the cliff to reach him.

On top of that, Danny could see tell-tale swelling under the skin on his chest, which suggested air was escaping from his punctured lungs.

“He needed to get to hospital urgently,” said Danny, 49, from East Kilbride.

But, to successfully treat Mr MacDonald, help from his “chips off the old block” proved vital.

Danny went off to retrieve a sleeping bag to keep the man warm, while young Harris stayed to comfort him.

“Harris is only 10 but was so calm and sat there chatting away,” said Danny, who also set Euan off on his own to call for help.

“I’m really proud of my lads.

“They are only youngsters but when it really mattered they were calm, collected and did just what they had to, to look after someone who needed help.

“Kids nowadays are often criticised so I think when they do something like this, the part that they played should be recognised.”

Mr MacDonald had been stranded on the beach with the tide coming in and was only discovered by the family by chance.

“We were out looking for fossils in a very remote part of Skye where you rarely see anyone,” said Danny.

“We decided to take that route only by chance.

“A burn blocked our path to a favourite walk and we went another way.

“Then we heard what we thought were seals and went to see them.

“We were stunned to see a man on the rocks. He was so weak he could barely call for help. We were really up against it as I knew the tide would come in.

“He’d had no food or water for 24 hours and kept saying, ‘I am just so glad you’ve found me’.

“We don’t usually give casualties fluids in case they need surgery but we wouldn’t get to hospital immediately.

“Euan rushed to get a bottle of Irn-Bru from our car.

“With no phone signal, I had to give Euan a very complex set of instructions about who to call, where we were and all the injuries.

“He took them all in, repeated them and ran off to get a phone signal.

“Within an hour we could hear the coastguard helicopter arrive. I recognised the winchman as we had worked together previously. He was surprised to see me!”

The ailing walker was airlifted to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness,  and he is now making a good recovery following the incident last month. “I’m fairly certain he would have died if he had lain out much longer,” said Danny.

Last night, a spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service praised the family’s efforts.

Daren Mochrie said: “Danny’s boys did a fantastic job of helping him care for a patient in a very challenging situation.

“He must be very proud of the way Euan and Harris played such an important and essential role.”

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