ARRANMORE RNLI volunteers battled severe winds and four metre waves on Sunday last as they went to the assistance of a woman who had dislocated her knee on Tory Island.
It was a case of a bumpy ‘Trasna na dtonnta’ for the crew members at Arranmore Lifeboat Station when they were called to assist in a medical evacuation from the island.
In a force seven gale and waves of four metres high, the crew under Coxswain Anton Kavanagh brought the patient safely to Burtonport Pier.
“The lifeboat was fairly jumping about in the stormy conditions,” Anton explained, “and we had to make the return journey to Burtonport fairly easy to avoid further discomfort to the patient who had a dislocated knee.”
The lifeboat was met at the pier by an ambulance which then transferred the injured woman to Letterkenny General Hospital.
Arranmore RNLI has had a busy start to 2013 with eight calls to date, the first two being on New Year’s Day.
Ms Nora Flanagan, Arranmore RNLI Lifeboat press officer said the charity’s crew is prepared to answer a call for assistance at any time of the day or night and is skilled to cope with all types of sea conditions.
“It is a tribute to the training they receive from the RNLI that they are also skilled in providing care in a sympathetic manner which is also conducive to alleviating stress for patients who may be in pain and perhaps are not too happy going to sea in adverse weather conditions.
“It is all part of the service our crew provides from saving lives at sea to evacuating those in need of medical assistance from the many islands dotted around the coast of Donegal.”
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