More than a decade after a near-death experience in a plane crash in the Turks and Caicos Islands and being told she may never walk again, Kaydeen Bartley has made significant strides and is now living out what she believes is her purpose.

In a recent interview, she recounted being a passenger in the plane that crash-landed in the sea in 2007, soon after take-off from North Caicos Airport in Turks and Caicos Islands. The flight was bound for Grand Turk Island Airport, also in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Six people were in the plane. Bartley was one of five passengers who made it out alive. The pilot died on impact.

In recounting what happened over a decade ago, Bartley said it was not her first time travelling the route, so she was happy and comfortable. Then everything changed.

Sitting near the pilot, she recalled looking at him and him looking back at her. That’s when she knew something was wrong.

“I don’t know when the plane crashed. I just remember that I was pinned, and my entire body was numb,” she said. “I tried my best to remain calm during the entire ordeal.”

She said she looked at the pilot and realised he wasn’t moving.

“I could tell he had passed. I called him three times, and he didn’t answer. I began hearing other people groaning, but they sounded so far away; it was devastating,” Bartley said.

Kaydeen Bartley in hospital after the plane crash in 2007.

She was rescued soon after and airlifted to Providenciales before being rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida, USA.

“I remember arriving at the hospital; there were so many flashing lights and so many doctors,” she said.
Bartley’s injuries included a broken neck, a damaged spinal cord, lacerations to the head, and a shattered ankle. She said she was also paralysed on the left side of her body. 

“I was told by the doctor that due to the extent of my injuries, I may never be able to walk again. I turned to him and said, ‘You are lying’.”

With the recommended physical therapy, her faith and determination, Bartley’s road to recovery began. The mother of three said one of the main things that kept her going was her children.

“I begged God not to let me leave them. I just had to be strong for them,” she said.

Fast-forward to a few years after the plane crash, Bartley gave birth to her third child and married her life partner, police officer Randy Bartley.

Kaydeen and Randy Bartley as newlyweds

She also wanted to do more with her life academically, so in 2016, she enrolled in a health aid and geriatrics nursing programme and got her diploma.

“Before I graduated, I was assigned to the Mustard Seed children’s home on internship. I was assigned to assist children with disabilities, some of them were paralysed and needed constant attention. This reminded me of myself and the fact that I survived. I could help them survive, too, and this was my purpose,” she said.

Then, with her family’s encouragement, she started her own business in 2018 – Kay’s Mobile Healthcare. Bartley is also the manager and head nurse at New Dawn Assisted Living in Manchester.

Her friend and colleague, Nadine Forbes, said working with Bartley has helped to build her self-confidence.

“She has motivated me in so many ways, which has helped me to accomplish the position I am in now,” said Forbes, the supervisor at New Dawn Assisted Living.

Bartley, 49, believes that being in the healthcare profession is her calling, and she is grateful she survived the catastrophic ordeal so that she can care for others.

“I don’t see myself leaving the medical field anytime soon. I love this area, and I love that I can do more for those who need my help,” Bartley said.

BY FARRIKA GREEN