REAL LIFE STORIES
The Surrey Air
Ambulance
The Surrey
Air Ambulance Service is a very new, life saving operation. The patients that
we have saved are more often than not, still in the process of recovery. For this reason, we currently only have one 'Real Life Story' from a member of the public carried in the Surrey Air Ambulance.
If
you have been flown in the Surrey Air Ambulance and would like to tell us about
your experiences please email us at website@kaat.org.uk
SURVIVOR STORY – MR DAVE MOREHEAD
Date of incident – 15/07/07
Time – 6.30am
Location – Send,
In July 2007, Dave Morehead was involved in a serious car crash and was air-lifted to hospital by the Surrey Air Ambulance, just 5 weeks after the service was operational.
Mr Morehead was driving to work at Guildford CID when he had a head-on collision with another car. He was trapped in his car for an hour whilst fire crews cut him out of the wreckage. Mr Morehead suffered serious injuries, his arm broke when it was pushed into the door arch, his leg was also broken by the impact but the most critical injury was the one sustained in his elbow which was severely fractured.
The Surrey Air Ambulance took just 10 minutes to reach the scene and when it was safe to do so, Mr Morehead was treated by the helicopter’s Doctor. He was then airlifted to the most relevant hospital for his injuries, The Royal Surrey Hospital, where he was to spend several weeks recuperating after initially being in theatre for 10 hours.
We spoke to Mr Morehead in December 2007 and
were delighted to hear that he has returned to restricted duties at work. He is
still suffering the aftermath from that day; he now walks with a stick, his
right arm is very weak and his elbow is rebuilding itself slowly but he was in
good spirits and talked about the high regard he now holds for the Air
Ambulance and its crew.
As he comments ‘it is a vital service that ensures badly injured people are taken to hospital as soon as possible and with less trauma than land ambulances would cause. The quicker they get to you the quicker they can put things right. I was more than impressed with the speed of getting to hospital.’
The
following stories are examples of the life saving work we do in our region.
REAL LIFE STORY - MRS HEATHER MACKEN
Date of incident -04/09/07
Time - 2.30pm
Location - Shadwell Woods, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells
Heather Macken needed the help of the Kent Air Ambulance on 4 September
2007 when she injured her side whilst out walking with her faithful dog, Fern.
Mrs Macken was in Shadwell Woods near Tunbridge Wells with a friend.
Fern, an excitable lurcher, careered into her and knocked her off balance. Mrs
Macken landed awkwardly on her side with such force that she was unable get up.
Whilst her friend went to take the dogs back and raise the alarm, Mrs
Macken was forced to remain on her own in agony. She was very cold and worried
about her blood pressure because has suffered from heart conditions in the
past.
After hour and a half, her friend returned. She had been trying to guide
the land ambulance to Mrs Macken and because of the remoteness of the location;
they had called for the Kent Air Ambulance who arrived just 10 minutes later.
The sound of the helicopters rotor blades both reassured and calmed Mrs Macken. The Air Ambulances Doctor quickly
assessed her at the scene and the crew were able to ease Mrs Macken onto the
helicopter and fly to a nearby cricket pitch where the land ambulance was
waiting to take her to hospital. Mrs Macken was fortunately discharged from
hospital later.
Mrs Macken describes the Air Ambulance crew as 'angels' and adds 'I think
they're incredible. What on earth would people do without them? If you're in
terrible pain and can't move and a land ambulance can't get to you, what might
happen? I thank my lucky stars that the crew were on hand to help me that day.
Thank you to them all'.
REAL LIFE STORY - MR ROGER BATES
Date of incident -23/05/02
Time - 10.30am
Location - Coldred (in-between Dover and Canterbury)
In May 2002, Roger Bates suffered a horrendous accident and needed the help of the Kent Air Ambulance. At the time, Roger was a builder. He was 40ft up in the air painting the roof of a building when the scaffolding he was on collapsed. Roger landed on his hip, broke his nose and knocked out some teeth. The scaffold board he had been standing on fell from the scaffolding tower straight onto the back of his head causing a scar that is still visible to this day.
The emergency services were called and a land ambulance arrived first. They immediately called for Kent Air Ambulance. Roger had suffered significant head injuries and in fact his heart stopped on the way to hospital in the helicopter. He was later told by his Doctor and surgeons that he wouldn't have survived without the intervention of the Air Ambulance as his journey to Margate Hospital took just 5 minutes compared to the 45 it would have taken by road.
Roger was in Margate Hospital for two weeks. His hip injury was the most pressing concern and so he was transferred to Tooting hospital, a specialist hip centre. In December 2003 he was finally able to rid himself of the crutches that he had used since the accident.
In March 2004 Roger returned to Kent Air Ambulance's base in Marden to meet the crew that saved him that day. Just a few months later Roger became a volunteer. He now devotes his time to attending cheque presentations, emptying collection boxes and representing the Air Ambulance at fetes and fairs.
Do you have a story like this that you would like to share?
Please email us at website@kaat.org.uk
REAL LIFE STORY - CHRIS SIM
Date of incident – 07/10/06
Time – 11am
Location – A20, Charing, Kent
Sadly from time to time real life stories do not always have happy
endings and even the specialised skills of our medical crews, sometimes we are unable to save a patients life. This is a story about one such
incident.
Chris Sim was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in October 2006 in Kent.
His bike was in collision with a car and although the Air Ambulance was called,
Chris’s injuries were just too severe and sadly he died at the scene.
His mother, Angela Sim was like all bereaved parents devastated. She has
written a moving book of poems in memory of her son, following her thoughts and
emotions for the first year after his tragic death.
The Air Ambulance’s story is usually a positive one about saving life
but since the two helicopters and their crews attend some of the most serious medical
emergencies there will always be times when the outcome is not what we would
have wished. We hope that for those people who have lost a loved one the poems
in this book will help them.
If you would like to obtain a copy of this book, please send your
details by email to website@kaat.org.uk and we will forward them to Chris’s mother, the author of this book.
The cost of the book is £5 and all proceeds, at Angela’s request will go to the Kent Air Ambulance.
