Scouting Ireland is proud to hear of the generous actions of 3rd Cavan Virginia Scout Group to save an injured man while on their climb of Snowdon.
Read the event report by Amanda Ferguson, Group Leader - 3rd Cavan Virginia Scouts.
On the 13th of July our 3rd Cavan Virginia Scout Group travelled to Wales for our annual summer camp. Our first hike was to climb Snowdon on the 2nd day of our trip. After a three hour climb, when we were a short distance from the summit, myself and another leader, Donagh, hiking along at the back of our group and came across an elderly gentleman, Richard, lying on the ground with facial injuries. He had cut his head after falling on some rocks. We both have REC3 (Remote Emergency Care) training and asked him if we could help him. We had the group's first aid kit in our bag and proceeded to administer first aid to the man. We cleaned the blood from his face to see where he was cut and used Steri-Strips to help seal his wound. We wrapped his head with a wound dressing and gave him some water and a little bit of chocolate. We kept chatting to him to ensure he wasn't feeling weak or dizzy. We then assisted him to his feet and supported him until we reached the café at the summit where we met the rest of our group and another of our leaders, Erica, who is a qualified nurse. She assessed the wound and ensured that the dressings were alright. We gave Richard a cup of tea and some biscuits.
At this stage we advised his wife and grandchild to speak to the mountain railway staff to ask if they could bring Richard down the mountain on the train. The staff said that the train was full. We then spoke with the railway staff and explained that the man was 84 and had sustained a head injury and a possible concussion. They suggested that we call mountain rescue. We thought this was ridiculous suggestion and eventually, after some persuasion, we secured a seat on the mountain train for Richard and his wife. We descended the mountain and travelled back to our camp.
Following on from our encounter we continued with our trip by summiting Snowdon. During the week we went SUP boarding at the beach in Llandudno, hiked up Tryfan (and took a swim in a cool mountain lake), whizzed our way downhill in the forest coasters and bounced our way around the tree top nets in Zipworld, ziplined and abseiled our way through the underground slate mines at the Go Below Experience, swam in and cycled around Lake Padarn, visited the National Slate Museum and enjoyed some down time and ice-cream in the pretty village of Betws-y-Coed.
A few days after our Snowdon climb, I received an email from Margaret in Scouting Ireland wondering if we had come to the assistance of an elderly gentleman near the summit of Snowdon. Richard had been in contact with her as he wanted to get in contact with us. She sent him our contact details and we were delighted to receive an email from him letting us know that he was back home and in good health after attending A&E, where he had received a CT scan. He also sent us a photo of himself and his family on Snowdon. He expressed his sincere gratitude to us for coming to his assistance on the mountain and explained how our action had the immediate effect of making him and his wife feel safe and secure, and lovingly cared for. He celebrated his 85th birthday that week.
It was a brilliant trip enjoyed by all and it was lovely to receive an email from Scouting Ireland updating us on Richard’s health thanking us for our help and we read Richard's email out to all our group. They were all amazed and impressed at how a man of Richard's age was able to hike to the summit of Snowdon. Our experience reinforced to them the scouting principle of always helping others in need.
Amanda Ferguson, Group Leader - 3rd Cavan Virginia Scouts
