Mum almost dies trying to rescue family dog when she plummets into a ravine

Leah Matthews was visiting Henrhyd Falls, Neath, Wales, with her partner on October 4 when the dog walk 'turned into a nightmare'.

The 32-year-old was trying to rescue her brother's five-month-old puppy Lola, who had tumbled over the edge, when she herself slipped.

Not realising she was on a 'cliff edge' due to foliage, Leah plummeted 131 feet down into the water below - all the time 'wondering when the fall was going to stop'.

The mum-of-two eventually landed in the water below and despite her extensive injuries, managed to pull herself up onto a wooden log.

Her partner Anthony Short scrambled down the cliff to rescue her and pulled Leah out of the water before phoning the emergency services - but she was soon suffering from hypothermia.

Mountain rescue teams were on the scene within 15 minutes, but the intricate rescue operation meant that it took them five hours to get her back up the cliffside and into the air ambulance.

Leah was transported to the major trauma unit at University Hospital of Wales where scans revealed she had suffered from eight broken ribs, a punctured lung, broken ankle, hip, and three major fractures in her pelvis.

After multiple surgeries and a month-long inpatient stay, Leah was discharged from hospital and allowed to return home on Saturday 1st November.

The mental health support worker now faces months of rehabilitation and is still unsure when she will be able to walk again.

But Leah says she 'wouldn't be here today' if her partner hadn't acted so quickly.

Leah, from Tonypandy, Glamorgan, Wales, said: "We headed out on the weekend on a normal dog walk and it turned into a nightmare.

"My brother's puppy Lola had slipped over the edge but you couldn't tell that it was a cliffside.

"She was struggling to get back up so I was trying to get her by using a stick to grab onto her harness.

"I think the motion of me trying to pull her up by her harness [meant that] I slipped.

"Because there were so many trees and bushes and things like that there, you couldn't see that it was a cliff edge.

"I started falling and remember thinking 'when is this going to end?' I was in shock [that I was falling] but at the same time I was trying to stop myself.

"I remember putting my left hand over my head to protect it and I tried slamming my foot into it a rock and stop myself [falling].

"That's when my body started twisting and that's where I broke my hip, my pelvis, my ribs. I stayed awake throughout it all. I fell into the water and it winded me."

Leah was able to grab onto a wooden log and partially pull herself out of the water.

Her quick-thinking partner, 40-year-old Anthony, then scrambled down the cliffside to rescue her.

Leah said: "It took him about two minutes to get down.

"He jumped onto a rock and then onto a bush and he climbed down a tree.

"He was able to locate me and pull me up onto this little path bit but half of my body was still in the water - my feet and my legs.

"He went to find phone signal so that he could phone the emergency services."

Emergency service teams including mountain rescue, the fire service and paramedics arrived at the scene.

Leah was treated for hypothermia but due to the location of where she'd fallen, it took rescue teams five hours to get her into an air ambulance.

Once at hospital, scans revealed that Leah had suffered from multiple broken bones.

Leah said: "I had eight broken ribs, a punctured lung, a major fracture in my ankle, my hip was completely smashed and I had three major fractures in my pelvis.

"My hip needed full reconstruction and my pelvis and ankle needed pins in place."

After three weeks, Leah was transferred to Royal Glamorgan Hospital for a week-long stay before being discharged on Saturday 1st November.

She is currently bed bound and faces months of rehabilitation before she is able to walk again.

Leah said: "I'm non-weight bearing still on my feet so I've been in a wheelchair.

"I've been bed bound for five days and I haven't been able to sit up because the pain in back has been so bad.

"I did have a nightmare one night where I woke up in a panic thinking that I'd fallen off the cliff again.

"We're unsure what the next steps are really but they have said that the recovery is a minimum of six months.

"It's going to be a long time before I can fully weight bare."

Leah says she 'wouldn't be here today' if her partner, 40-year-old Anthony, hadn't acted so quickly.

Leah said: "If he didn't [make his way down the cliff] then I wouldn't be here today.

"When he was trying to come down, I was losing my energy and I was holding onto a log, submerged in the water.

"My face was going into the water and there was another waterfall about 20 feet [away] so if I'd let go then I would have been over the next waterfall."

Leah's family has set up a GoFundMe page with the target of raising £3,000 to help support her recovery.

So far, £2,771 of the target has been raised.

Leah said: "The money will be used for living and paying my bills.

"I've got a car on finance which I'm probably going to have to change to an automatic because I'm not going to be able to use a manual with the injuries I've got.

"I've been overwhelmed with the amount of support I've had and the messages from friends, family, and people donating.

"You don't realise how many people are supportive until you're going through something like this, it's overwhelming."

To donate to Leah's GoFundMe page go here https://www.gofundme.com/f/5suv8x-support-for-leah?