A 10-inch stake skewered a Dundee woman’s leg after she fell down the stairs in a “freak” accident.
Catherine Elnawaisre, 43, of Pitkerro Drive, said she feared she was going to lose her leg as a result of the “horrific” incident.
She told the Tele: “The whole thing happened so quickly. When I looked down and saw the stake through my leg I was horrified. As I lay in hospital later that night I was really scared I’d lose my leg.”
Catherine explained she was going to let her new dog Kacie, a one-year-old Yorkshire terrier, out at 11pm on Friday.
The mum said: “I only got Kacie on the Tuesday and the accident happened three days later. I was at the top of the inside stairs in my flat when I slipped.
“I fell all the way to the bottom and landed on the red plastic dog stake that I was going to use to tie Kacie up in the garden.
“In a completely freaky incident, the stake pierced my leg from behind and ended up protruding through the front of my leg.
“I think I went into shock right away but I knew I had to get help. There was no way I was getting back up the stairs. I was worried about my sons and granddaughter who were in the house on their own.”
Catherine said her screams of pain and panic alerted her neighbours.
In the meantime, she managed to get outside and go down a set of outside stairs.
She explained: “Initially I wasn’t in too much pain. I think shock and panic took over and to begin with there was very little blood but as we waited for the ambulance to arrive I was in agony.”
Catherine said the ambulance arrived within about five minutes but paramedics had a tricky job getting her into the ambulance because stake was sticking out right up to her thigh.
She added: “I was given painkillers but the pain was unbelievable. I was also terrified about what was going to happen. It looked horrific when I looked down and saw the stake going right through my leg.”
Catherine had an operation the next day to remove the stake.