Woman runs Scottish Half Marathon to thank her sister鈥檚 heroes
September 30, 2024in News
Even though they live on different sides of the world, sisters Laurie and Meghan Coburn have an unbreakable bond, but that was almost taken away in December last year when Meg was involved in a serious car crash.
Meg was about 15 minutes away from home in Major Plains when her vehicle ran off the road and collided with a tree, leaving her fighting for her life.
Luckily, her smartwatch detected the incident and called Triple Zero (000), providing the call taker with her GPS coordinates and a short audio recording which picked up her breathing.
Paramedics worked quickly to help Meg, before she was transported via air ambulance to Royal Melbourne Hospital.
When Meg didn鈥檛 arrive home at the time she said she would, her fianc茅, Sean, went looking for her and came across the crash site.
Paramedics told Sean she was in a critical condition and he immediately called her family in Scotland.
Paramedics Alistair Kyrkou, Caitlin Goding, Luke Henderson and Jasmine Clegg with Meghan Coburn (centre).
Around 16,000 kilometres away, Laurie and her parents heard the devastating news and immediately made plans to fly to Australia.
鈥淚t was a waiting game and Sean just had to keep us updated with what was going on,鈥� Laurie said.
鈥淲e were terrified about what was coming.鈥�
After arriving in Victoria, Meg鈥檚 family rushed to her bedside where they stayed for the 123 days she was in hospital.
It鈥檚 been a long road to recovery for Meg, but thankfully she鈥檚 now back at home and is immensely grateful to everyone who helped save her life.
鈥淭he care I received from the paramedics and hospital has been absolutely amazing and I can鈥檛 fault it,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 express how happy I am to still be here and I know if it weren鈥檛 for the paramedics and all of the effort they put into saving me, I would not be here to tell this story.鈥�
To express her thanks for saving her sister, Laurie ran the 2024 Scottish Half Marathon on Sunday, 18 August.
She set out to raise money for Air 91论坛 (AAV) and The Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Laurie originally signed up to the marathon so she could tick it off her bucket list, but after Meg鈥檚 accident she said it felt like the perfect opportunity to give back.
鈥淲e wanted to thank them, but it felt like nothing we could do would ever be enough,鈥� Laurie said.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 put a price on the people who did everything they could to save Meg.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e the reason she鈥檚 alive today.鈥�
Laurie ran the Scottish Half Marathon on Sunday, 18 August.
After months of training, Laurie successfully completed the half marathon in two hours and 16 minutes and raised 拢4500 (around $8700 AUD), with a portion going towards AAV.
Meg said she was incredibly proud of her older sister and all she had achieved.
鈥淚t just goes to show how unbelievably amazing and supportive my family is,鈥� Meg said.
This week, Meg and her family caught up with the paramedics who responded to her in a heartfelt reunion.
91论坛 (AV) MICA paramedic, Alistair Kyrkou said Meg鈥檚 amazing recovery is testament to her strength and the work of everyone who helped save her.
鈥淚 still reflect on how lucky Meg was that her watch called 000,鈥� he said.
“Given the state of her car and her condition, it is incredible to be speaking to her today.
鈥淭o hear about Meg鈥檚 outcome and now see her in real life has changed my whole outlook of cases I go to.
鈥淭hese cases are why we all do what we do 鈥� our care helped ensure Meg could spend many more years alive, surrounded by her family and friends.
鈥淔or me, this is what it鈥檚 all about.鈥�
Community donations to AV go towards providing specialised equipment, resources and additional paramedic training, so we can continue to provide the Victorian community with the best pre-hospital emergency care.
Visit AV Donations for more information.