A young Fife dad's looking forward to spending time with his family this Christmas after spending 30 minutes buried in concrete, which has left him with life-changing injuries,
25 year old Jordan MacKenzie from Crossgates fractured multiple bones and suffered chemical burns all over his body after the incident in Cardenden in the summer.
He was helping pour concrete in a block of flats when the ceiling above him gave way and trapped hum in the quick drying mix and rubble.
He was only found after a colleague spotted his foot among the debris.
The incident happened at about 9am on July 19 at the former Bowhill Miners Institute on Main Street in Cardenden. It was being turned into flats at the time.
Jordan was in a coma at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for 17 days, medics feared he wouldn't survive.
He's still in hospital five months later recovering from his injuries.
He says he's positive about the future and hopes to spend time with his family this Christmas.
He said: “I was trapped under everything with the concrete still pouring on top of me.
“There is no doubt I’m lucky to be alive but I’m trying to stay positive and focus on what’s important.”
(Images show Jordan's burns)
Workers were pouring concrete onto the first floor of the building when Jordan was tasked to go to the ground level and check for any leaks or problems.
But moments after entering the area the ceiling above him collapsed.
Jordan said: “I was trapped under everything – the concrete came down along with the steel and knocked me to the ground and everything landed on top of me.
“With the sheer weight of it all I could feel myself struggling to move.
“I was in a lot of pain almost immediately but then with adrenaline and everything it wasn’t long before all I felt was total panic.”
Emergency crews raced to the scene but it was an agonising wait as firefighters feared the rest of the structure could collapse, but they were able to remove him from the building.
Jordan added: “I was stuck for about 30 minutes. It was terrifying.
“I have vague flashbacks of what happened as I was drifting in and out of consciousness.
“One thing I’ll never forget was the moment one worker there would managed to pull my head above the concrete and clean my face so I could breathe – I genuinely believe his actions saved my life.”
After leaving hospital in Edinburgh he spent 12 days at the ITU burns unit at St John's in Livingston, was transferred to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy and is now recovering at Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline.
Jordan said: “I suffered bad burns to my arms and leg which required skin grafts.
My eyes were also badly burned by the chemicals in the concrete and doctors tell me I am very lucky to still have my sight.
“I had cuts and fractures all over my body – my face, ribs, femur, shoulder, pelvis and spine – so I needed a lot of surgery for that too.
“It’s been a painful and stressful recovery mentally and physically but I’m getting there despite some injuries being life changing.
“More than anything I want to thank everyone - my colleagues who helped in the immediate aftermath, from the firefighters who got me out, to the NHS staff who treated me to my friends and family who have been supportive throughout in more ways than I can describe.
“Right now I just want to focus on my recovery and see my loved ones over Christmas and start to look forward again.”
The building collapse remains under investigation by the Health and Safety Executive.
Innes Laing, Partner at Digby Brown Solicitors in Kirkcaldy, is currently helping Jordan and his family around the probe.
He said: “What happened to Jordan is the stuff of nightmares and while it’s incredible he survived it doesn’t change the fact that the incident should not have happened in the first place.
“It would be wrong to speculate on the cause of the collapse or on any failings of site contractors as these are the very issues the HSE will be looking at.
“Our focus right now is on helping Jordan with his recovery and making sure he and his family have the right support in place.”
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