Woman’s ‘living nightmare’ after being dragged out to sea by horror tidal wave
At the end of Jane Bradshaw and her husband Marcus’s holiday to Tenerife, they decided to go on one final stroll down to the harbour.
After looking after Jane’s parents throughout the trip, including her mum with Alzheimer's, the married couple from Manchester ventured for one last outing at Puerto de la Cruz before flying back home.
But in an instant, they were faced with what could’ve been their tragic last moments.
A mammoth tidal wave came crashing down onto the pier, wiping out swathes of people and dragging some helplessly out into the water as they scrambled to survive.
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Holidaymakers were pulled off the pier and down into the ocean in a horror incident that injured 15 and tragically killed one person.
Jane and Marcus were among those caught up in the chaos, yanked into the water and separated by the brutal waves.
“I opened my eyes and knew I was deep down in the water”
“Whilst we were letting my parents pack away their things, Marcus and I decided to go for one final walk down to the harbour,” Jane explained. “I wish I had never suggested it.
“I turned to Marcus and shouted to run, but it hit us in what felt like an instant.”
Now Jane has remembered the ordeal, and how she desperately scrambled for safety despite being injured.
Her arm was broken and it was impossible to swim out of the current. Thankfully, Marcus’ backpack string inadvertently saved him.
“It was so quick I had no idea what had happened,” she said. “I opened my eyes and I knew I was deep down in the water, but I somehow managed to get to the surface.
“I could hear a lot of screaming from the side and I panicked and shouted, ‘where is my husband?’
“Passers-by were jumping into the water to try and rescue people, I saw Marcus fighting the tide by the side of the wall.
“Fortunately, he had rope in his rucksack but the surge was horrific.
“One minute you’d be down low and then the surge would push you up really high, so getting out was still a battle for him. Someone at the top of the 15ft wall caught his rope and pulled him up.”
Describing her own attempt at an escape, which saw members of the public use towels tied together to help her clamber out, she continued: “I tried to swim to the harbour side, but my arm was broken and I was struggling to keep my head above the water.
“Another man fastened some towels together and dangled them into the water for me to grab and pulled me along the wall to get me to some steps.
“Marcus implored me to climb out of the water in case there was another wave.
“I don’t know how I climbed the slimy, slippery steps, it was just adrenaline surging through my body.
“Once I was out, I collapsed from the pain of my injuries. I couldn’t speak to explain to anybody, I was just in horrific pain.”
“It was a living nightmare”
Jane’s injuries were horrific. She was rushed to hospital and told she had a broken humerus in her arm, eight broken ribs, large swelling on her left hip and a massive haematoma on her back.
Previously, she had led a very active and energetic lifestyle, running 10ks, half marathons, cycling and walking.
Also in the incident, a woman suffered a heart attack and died. Three people were seriously injured and taken to hospital.
Jane was kept in observation for two days whilst her husband was given stitches for a badly cut arm.
She was then moved from the public hospital to a private one when the hospital realised she had health insurance - but the ordeal was far from over.
There were errors in her treatment, including chest drains being incorrectly inserted into her body. Her husband Marcus had to take IVs out for her instead.
“In hindsight, that [private hospital] was the worst thing that could have happened to us,” she explained.
“When they said I was going to private care I thought ‘great’ as the image often portrayed to us is that private healthcare is better, but it was shocking and the mental trauma from being treated by them is almost as bad as the physical injuries from the incident itself.
“They were not used to dealing with multiple traumas and didn’t know how to properly look after my injuries. They made several mistakes and it was incredibly frightening.
“There were several instances where chest drains were painfully and incorrectly inserted into my body making me feel like I was constantly being stabbed, there were extended periods of time where I saw nobody, there was just a massive lack of care which we’d become accustomed to in the UK.
“I mean, my husband was having to take my IVs out for me. It was that bad.
“I was in Tenerife hospital for five weeks because the insurance company would not fly us back due to the complication in my lungs which had not been adequately treated by the hospital. “Between the insurance company and the hospital, it became a living nightmare.”
Mistakes in medical notes
Jane was eventually flown to Manchester Airport with a doctor where a waiting ambulance rushed her to Manchester Royal Infirmary’s emergency department and then she was immediately transferred to the hospital’s major trauma ward.
It was there she said doctors diagnosed ‘more in 30 minutes’ than her time in Tenerife, when they discovered a fractured pelvis and sacrum.
“The level of care and attention to detail was mindblowing” she said.
“The attention to detail and compassion has been crucial in making sure I’m being properly rehabilitated.
“There was a physio who noted an important error in the Tenerife medical notes. I’d been confused as staff kept asking me how much I liked surfing. The physio mentioned it was in my notes that I had hurt myself in a surfing accident.
“I was hysterically crying as it dawned on me that everyone in the hospital had been thinking I was an avid surfer.
“The difference was actually quite important, as staff realised that the incident was one that would carry emotional and mental trauma as well as physical damage.
“From that, the physio went away and organised for me to see a clinical psychologist, who has been amazing and I still see her now alongside my physical rehab work.”
“I have cried a lot… I still suffer with PTSD”
Jane is now supported by the Manchester Institute of Health and Performance, Manchester’s specialist Major Trauma Enhanced Rehab Service (MTERS), where she is offered intensive physiotherapy and trauma-focused psychological therapy.
However she said it is the mental scars that are the toughest to truly get over.
“Aside from the incident itself, it was a very depressing experience sitting in the same hospital for five weeks,” she said.
“I have cried a lot, I still suffer with PTSD from the incident with flashbacks. I am coming to terms with my body not doing what my brain wants it to do, my arm is still not strong enough, I can almost reach above my head but I can’t reach behind my back.
“I have been able to get back on my bike but my level of fitness is gone and I can’t run for now. I look better but I have so much work to do as my head is a mess – I am grieving for the body I usd to have who could do all those activities I loved.
"It’s also been really hard on my loved ones. Marcus has been my absolute rock, a tower of strength. He had to deal with what happened to me and all the logistics.
“We lost our phones and glasses in the water, we ended up in different hospitals and didn’t know where the other was. He tracked me down and let my parents and our daughter know, then there was all the endless admin with the airline and insurance.
“Even when we got home, he still had to care for me and take time off work."
James Holt