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Lad Waits Six Hours For Ambulance After Dislocating Knee Playing Football

Lad Waits Six Hours For Ambulance After Dislocating Knee Playing Football

He sustained the horrific injury at around 9.10pm and had to wait in the rain until 3.20am before an ambulance arrived

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

***WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES***

A LAD was left waiting for an ambulance for more than six hours after dislocating his knee playing football. Watch here:

Lorcan McGleenon was training with Northern Quarter Football Club at Dean Trust Ardwick in Manchester, UK, yesterday (Wednesday 19 October) when he fell awkwardly and dislocated his knee.

"I went up to take a ball down on my chest, my knee locked and popped out and folded like a napkin," he told LADbible.

Lorcan sustained a horrific injury during football training.
LADbible

A teammate called an ambulance at around 9.10pm, while another held aloft his horrifically injured leg - but none of them could have ever guessed that help wouldn't arrive until 3.20am.

With the training session abandoned, three teammates waited with the 25-year-old, while the caretaker agreed not to lock up until the ambulance arrived.

The smiles didn't last long.
LADbible

However, once the initial adrenaline wore off - and with no medical assistance in sight - the pain started to set in for Lorcan.

His teammates used a bin to support his leg and covered him in coats in a bid to keep him as warm and comfortable as possible, but as the hours passed, it became unbearable for the afflicted player.

Keen to distract him from the agony in whatever way they could, his teammates went to the off licence to buy a bottle of Jameson whiskey, before heading to McDonald's to pick up 100 chicken nuggets and four double cheeseburgers.

The team had to improvise.
LADbible

Lorcan, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, said: "I thought I was going to get an ambulance within 30 minutes so acted the hard man and refused a coat whilst Ollie kneeled supporting my knee - until the bin idea came along.

"We kept ringing 999 with no luck. The pain kicked in and they went on a whiskey and chocolate run - without realising there were painkillers beside me."

But while the booze and nuggs provided some temporary relief, Lorcan understandably became despondent as the hours crept by and the pain increased.

The situation was compounded when heavy downpours swept across the pitch, leaving the footballers to huddle under an umbrella and a pile of coats by the bin-cum-footrest. Lorcan sustained his injury on the far side of the pitch, at the opposite end to the entrance, so there was no way to shift him without causing unbearable pain and risking worsening the injury.

Rain worsened the dire situation.
LADbible

The guys called 999 half a dozen times throughout the night, indicating that Lorcan's condition and the weather conditions were getting worse, and each time they were told he would be re-triaged.

On one of the calls, it was indicated that the wait could be as long as seven hours - a warning which Lorcan said they all 'laughed at' initially.

But sure enough, it was more than six hours until help finally came.

Lorcan said: "One paramedic rocked up with gas and air and I was tanking into that like nobody's business.

"The two paramedics, my teammates and the caretaker then lifted me on to the stretcher but my knee had been locked on to the bin so long I couldn't move it out of the position... so the well-funded NHS had to use the bin to prop my knee up until we got to the ambulance.

"I'd polished off the gas and air that quick I got another and some morphine."

Paramedics used the bin to move him across the pitch to the ambulance.
LADbible

More pain killers were needed though once he finally arrived at Manchester Royal Infirmary at around 4.30am, where they set about fixing his crooked leg.

Lorcan said: "After feeling like an exhibition in a museum they decided to give me good strong stuff to basically numb everything. About six people then proceeded to hold me down whilst they tried to punch my knee back into place - sore that was!

"Got the X-ray scan, all clear, fired a cricket splint on to me and got in the back of an Uber at about 6.30am with my flatmate."

The injury means Lorcan has now dislocated both knees twice, but on the previous three occasions, he never had to wait longer than an hour-and-a-half to have the knee popped back in the right place.

As such, he reckons this was the worst - but also the best - knee dislocation he has ever had.

It was a night to forget - and remember.
LADbible

He said: "It was the worst with the time - but not very often do you get to eat nuggets and have a couple of whiskeys, whilst lying on a field with your leg propped up on a bin."

A North West Ambulance Service spokesperson told LADbible: "The ambulance service is currently very busy, and unfortunately, some patients are waiting longer for help than we would like.

"We understand that this can be an uncomfortable and anxious time; however, we must prioritise life-threatening emergencies and the most seriously injured patients first.

"We wish Mr McGleenon well and hope he recovers swiftly from his injury. If he would like us to look further at this incident, we invite him to contact our patient safety team."

Featured Image Credit: LADbible

Topics:ย SPORT, UK News, Football, Ambulance, NHS