Gran left shaken and too scared to go out alone after horror fall at shopping centre
A Scots gran has been left shaken to the core and too frightened to go out on her own after she suffered a fall on uneven paving.
Helen Taggart, 78, was left covered in blood and in shock after she tripped on a raised slab in the car park of the Forge Shopping Centre's Asda store on Sunday, June 27.
The NHS receptionist had just loaded her shopping into the back of her car when she was sent crashing to the ground after her foot caught on a paving stone while stopping her trolley from rolling away, reports Glasgow Live.
Helen, who has worked at her local health centre for more than 40 years, was left with horrific injuries including deep cuts inside her mouth where her teeth almost burst through her lip, and multiple gashes and abrasions to her face.
Helen told Glasgow Live: "I was in a terrible mess. I'm still not right. I was putting my shopping bags in the back of my car when the trolley moved. I took a couple of steps to catch it, and I felt my feet clicking on the slab, which was up from the rest of them.
"I had nothing to catch onto. I threw my arm out so my face partially landed on my arm. I was lucky. If I had hit that, I honestly think my whole head would have burst. The amount of blood was unbelievable."
Shocked shoppers and a passing staff member rushed to help the pensioner, but she was too stunned to stand.
She added: "I'm held together with metal because I was hit by a bus quite a long time ago, which is why I have a disabled badge. I'm not a complainer, I just take a paracetamol and get on with it. But I just couldn't get up and keep going.
"People were all around me, and one of the guys who does the trolleys came over and gave me a cloth. They helped me to my feet. I can't thank them enough. They were amazing."
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Helen then drove herself to her health centre, only for colleagues to send her straight to hospital. Doctors couldn't stitch her mouth because of the amount of skin lost, leaving her unable to speak for four days. She survived on drinks through a straw for fear of reopening the wound.
Speaking about the impact of the fall, she added: "I don't feel the same anymore. I'm taking dizzy spells.
"When I'm walking, I feel like I'm going sideways. I'm really shook up. Most of the time, I have someone with me when I leave the house now. It really hits your confidence."
Helen is now considering giving up her job at the health centre where she has worked for over 40 years.
Following the fall, Helen's niece Sandra tried to get in contact with the Forge Shopping Centre, but says that all attempts at contact have fallen on deaf ears.
Sandra told Glasgow Live: "We're just looking for someone to acknowledge what happened. Helen is a typical wee feisty Glasgow woman and this has knocked her back. We feel completely ignored."
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