A woman had to be airlifted to hospital after plummeting 130ft down a ravine while trying to rescue her family dog.
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 into the water below.
The mum-of-two suffered extensive injuries but 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 it took them five hours to get Leah back up the cliffside and into an 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 stay, Leah was discharged from hospital and allowed to return home on Saturday November 1.
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 is still 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.
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.
