'i never saw myself being in that situation... It was such a massive shock'

A Yorkshire teenager has said she will ‘never ride again’ after a crash left her in an induced coma with a broken pelvis. Katie Flounders from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, got her first

motorbike just weeks before the ride that nearly cost her her life. Katie had just left a dental appointment and was riding home when she crashed with a car only eight miles from her house.

Katie says she will never ride again and she has 'no memory of the accident'. She said: “I never saw myself being in that situation. It was such a massive shock." The impact

threw her more than four metres across the road, where she struck her head and lost consciousness. Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s Topcliffe-based crew were dispatched from five miles away,

reaching Katie within minutes. It was later found she had suffered a serious head injury, broken her pelvis on both sides, fractured her wrist and hud bruised her liver. The greatest concern

for paramedics at the time however, was the possibility of a traumatic brain injury, something that can quickly become life-threatening without urgent intervention. Knowing the situation

was severe, paramedics on the scene began preparing to treat her. Paramedic Stew explained the 'split-second' decision to place Katie in a coma. He said: “It appeared Katie was

suffering from impact brain apnoea, a condition where a severe blow to the head temporarily stops a person from breathing. This puts the patient at serious risk of hypoxia, where the brain

and body are deprived of vital oxygen.” Cold and confused Katie became increasingly agitated, a classic sign of brain trauma. Doctors on board of the helicopter made the critical decision to

perform a Rapid Sequence Induction (RSI), placing Katie in a medically induced coma to protect her brain from further damage. After being transferred to the nearest hospital, Katie spent

nine days recovering, being brought out of the coma the day after she arrived. Although she has no memory of the accident, she recalls the shock of waking up to learn the extent of her

injuries. She has struggled with short-term memory loss and has deferred her college studies for a year to focus on recovery. GET BREAKING NEWS IN YORKSHIRE STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE Get all

the latest big and breaking Yorkshire news straight to your mobile via WhatsApp by clicking here. If you don’t like our community, you can leave any time. We also treat members to special

offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. Read our privacy notice here. Katie said: “I never saw myself being in that situation. It was such a massive shock. Of all my

physical injuries, the memory loss has been the hardest part. If I’m told something, I’ll forget it within a few hours. It’s really frustrating not even knowing if I was told something in

the first place. "I tried going back to college for a full day, but by half eleven I was texting my mum asking her to come and get me. It’s upsetting to push things back, but I know

I’ll come back stronger next year.” _THE HARROWING FOOTAGE WAS CAPTURED BY THE YORKSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE’S RAPID RESPONSE TEAM, WITH THE STORY TAKING CENTRE STAGE IN THE PREMIERE EPISODE OF

THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SECOND SERIES OF YORKSHIRE AIR 999, AIRING FRIDAY 30TH MAY AT 9 PM ON REALLY AND DISCOVERY+._ _THE EPISODE ALSO FEATURED AN 82-YEAR-OLD FARMER CRUSHED BY A HALF-TONNE

HAY BALE, A VAN DRIVER TRAPPED WITH SERIOUS LEG INJURIES FOLLOWING A ROAD TRAFFIC COLLISION, AND A YOUNG RUNNER WHO DISLOCATED HIS KNEE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT YORKSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE

AND HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT ITS LIFESAVING WORK, PLEASE VISIT WWW.YAA.ORG.UK._ _GET ALL THE LATEST AND BREAKING NEWS IN YORKSHIRE BY __SIGNING UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER HERE._