<< Carole Bell-Court’s memories (part 2)
It was time for me to leave the hospital and fly home, not something I was particularly looking forward to, but there was no choice.
I was bandaged up so much that I looked like an Egyptian mummy. Considering that my hands were burnt the worst, the bandages covered all of the hands and up to the shoulder. My legs were also bandaged the same, ankle to crutch. This was due to a piece of metal stuck in my leg, and a burn on the back of the leg where I had my leg laying on metal, and then the foot. Bones poking out.
My left side took most of the flames and the end of my nose when I put my hands over my eyes when jumping out of the plane.
Taken by ambulance to the airport, I was bursting for the loo. I had someone to accompany me, but must have looked totally ridiculous walking with both arms outstretched and stiff legs unable to bend them.
By the time I managed to manipulate myself into the toilet, I couldn’t sit down as I couldn’t bend my legs. Couldn’t shut the door as my arms were in the way, so had to shout for assistance. In the end I had to bite the bullet and just fall back onto the toilet. Then I had to have assistance to be pulled off. What a farce!!!!
Anyway, they got me on the plane and I was laid out as some of the seats had been removed. I think I was given a sedative to keep me quiet.
When we arrived at London Airport, I was then taken to Salisbury Hospital, where I stayed a few days and then was moved to the burns unit at Odstock Hospital. I was given a huge room to myself which was probably for the best as I wasn’t exactly in the mood to converse with anyone.
The hospital could not believe the bandages and wadding that I was encased in.
They were very nice there, and after a while I was talking to patients in other wards. There is always someone worse off than yourself.
My Great Aunt and Uncle drove down from Hertfordshire, they were the ones we stayed with before boarding the plane.
I wasn’t invited to live with them, so it was still going to be my best friend’s house.
The 1966 Ljubljana Air Crash. 