Patients

A former Yorkshire Air Ambulance patient who suffered a cardiac arrest in 2015 has given back to helicopter heroes by raising £4,000 for the life-saving charity.

Robert Gunn, owner of Grange Moor garage in Huddersfield was walking the Pennine Way near Saddleworth Moor when he began feeling sick and suddenly collapsed on his way back to the car park.

Speaking of his incident, Robert said: “I didn’t feel any pain like you usually associate with heart attacks. I didn’t even know I was having a heart attack. I was feeling sick and we had been out the night before having seafood, so I thought it might have been a touch of food poisoning.”

He continued: “We carried on walking for another hour until we reached the main Saddleworth Road and luckily a couple called Steve and Angie were discussing where they were going to go for their dinner and they saw me keel over. I climbed over a sty, sat down on a boulder, and went into arrest.”

Bystanders Steve and Angie, who coincidentally also worked at a local hospital, ran over to Robert and immediately began CPR.  They worked on him for nearly twenty minutes until the land crew arrived who were able to use their defibrillator to restart his heart.

Due to the seriousness of his condition, Yorkshire Air Ambulance dispatched their aircraft and he was flown to Leeds General Infirmary where he was subsequently fitted with a stent.

Over the last few years, Robert has generously donated £4,000 to Yorkshire Air Ambulance from his personal savings, and donations from small jobs he had carried out at his garage.

“We have a garage and if someone comes in for a small job such as a rattle on their car, we will have a look at it and rather than charge, we ask for a donation in the air ambulance box. We slowly built up the funds from a few quid here and there”, said Robert.

Stephanie Maynard, West Yorkshire Community Fundraiser for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said: “We would like to thank Robert for his continuous support and generosity.

It costs £12,000 a day to keep both of Yorkshire’s air ambulances airborne and the money raised by Robert will help significantly towards our vital funding and enable us to save more lives like Robert’s. We’re so glad we were able to help and it’s great to hear how well he is doing.”

To find out more about Yorkshire Air Ambulance, please visit: https://www.yorkshireairambulance.org.uk/

A cyclist who suffered a near-fatal heart attack whilst cycling in Birkin has thanked Yorkshire Air Ambulance for coming to his rescue.

On 22^nd May, Stephen Curran (62) from Hillam, North Yorkshire was cycling from Birkin to Gateforth when he started experiencing shoulder pain.

Speaking of when he began noticing symptoms of a heart attack, Stephen said: “When I was cycling in Birkin I began experiencing pain in my left shoulder. At first, I thought it was just muscle pain so I carried on for a few more miles, but it began to get worse and I had chest pain and shortness of breath. Around four or five miles away from home, I decided to stop on the grass verge and rest. It was then I realised it wasn’t normal muscle pain as I noticed that I was getting confused, so I decided to call for an ambulance.”

He continued: “Luckily, when I called the emergency services an ambulance was already in the area and it didn’t take long to arrive. The Paramedic carried out an ECG and said that it was quite serious. The air ambulance followed shortly after.”

Yorkshire Air Ambulance dispatched one of their helicopters and after an assessment on-scene, Stephen was flown to Leeds General Infirmary where he had an emergency stent fitted and spent a few days in coronary care. He was discharged from the hospital three days later and currently receives outpatient care.

“The consultant said that if I wasn’t physically fit and the emergency services didn’t respond as effectively as they did, it could have been fatal because the artery was completely blocked”, said Stephen.

Speaking of Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Stephen said: “I just want to express my sincere thanks to the air ambulance crew on the day. Their speed of response both to the scene of the incident and to the LGI combined with their skill and professionalism not only helped to save my life but also massively reduced the complications associated with my blocked coronary artery. I now more fully understand how serious my situation was at the time.”

Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) serves 5 million people across Yorkshire and carries out over 1,300 missions every year. The Charity operates two, state-of-the-art Airbus H145 helicopters and needs to raise £12,000 every day to keep saving lives.

The new campaign from the YAA aims to raise awareness that a serious incident could happen to anyone, at any time anywhere, and express the importance of the life-saving charity across the region.

Every year, YAA treats a diverse mix of patients. In 2021 alone, Yorkshire Air Ambulance responded to 1,712 incidents, and over the last 20 years, they have flown more than 8,300 patients to major trauma centres across the region, often for life-saving treatment.

Here are just a small example of people the YAA have helped over the years:

On 10^th April 2019, Kayanna Nicol from Doncaster, who was seven at the time, accidentally walked into the pathway of an ongoing vehicle. The back wheel of the car caught her leg and split it from side to side causing massive trauma. Kayanna was flown to Sheffield Children’s Hospital, where she was rushed into a five-hour surgery to save her leg. Kayanna’s father Keith, said: “She received excellent attention, and treatment that Kayanna received was second to none. I couldn’t fault anyone; they are all brilliant people.”

Caroline Shepherd from Helmsley, North Yorkshire, was out hunting on her horse at Lockton near Pickering in 2018 when she suddenly collapsed and fell from it. Caroline was airlifted to James Cook University Hospital, where brain scans revealed that she had suffered from a subarachnoid haemorrhage.  Doctors told her that she was lucky to be alive as she had technically died at the scene before being resuscitated. Caroline is now a registered volunteer for Yorkshire Air Ambulance. “I owe them my life and I cannot thank them enough for everything they have done”, said Caroline.

Anthony Burman was involved in a serious motorcycle racing incident in Elvington race track near York in 2009.  He said: ‘Without the Yorkshire Air Ambulance I would not be where I am today, you just never know when you or your family may need these heroes’

Professor Ben von Hout suffered a near-fatal cardiac arrest in York in May 2019. Speaking of his incident, Ben said: “The faster you are at the hospital, the better the results are and of course going in the helicopter decreases the time between symptoms and having a stent placed.  I can only be thankful to everyone doing such a good job. I can’t believe how lucky I am.”

Robert Wood was doing some maintenance work on the 106-year-old bells at Middleham Parish Church in Wensleydale, when he slipped and fell several feet onto part of the mechanism, impaling his chin on a metal peg. YAA crews flew Robert to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesborough for an urgent four-hour operation on his jaw. “The land and then air ambulance were there very quickly, and I was just so grateful to be flown to the hospital within minutes. They saved me from what would have been a long and painful journey of over an hour on winding roads”, said Robert.

Imran Choudhry from Oldham featured in a one-hour special episode ‘Critical Hour’ of the award-winning television show, Helicopter ER.  His accident which saw him fall around 100ft down a steep ravine from the Trinnacle Point at Saddleworth Moor was one of the YAA’s most complex rescues in their 22 years of operations.  He said: “They are my angels who saved me. I’m so grateful for their help. It was a very challenging rescue and it’s amazing what they did to save me.”

Hayley Delaney from Bradford was only five weeks away from completing her midwifery course when she was involved in a serious road traffic collision when a car ran a red light at a crossroads near Cleckheaton back in 2013. She was left with significant brain injuries and had to learn to walk again. “The air ambulance is my angels in the sky. I wouldn’t be here without them. They have saved my life and changed my life, and they will always hold a special place in my heart”, said Hayley.

On the 26^th of September 2019, Nigel Atkinson was riding his motorcycle on the M18 motorway near Thorne. As he was passing an articulated goods vehicle, the prop shaft from that wagon flew off into the front wheel of his bike resulting in Nigel coming off his bike at 70 mph causing him serious damage.  A passer-by named Matthew who was driving his van, positioned his vehicle to protect Nigel as he was airborne, so no further damage came to him on the busy motorway and then started immediate CPR until the emergency services arrived. Yorkshire Air Ambulance dispatched their helicopter and Nigel was flown to the hospital for further treatment. “I’m eternally grateful to the YAA and Matthew’s heroic efforts”, said Nigel.

Abby Barmby, Director of Marketing and Communications added: “These are just a few of the remarkable people we have been able to help and save over our 22 years of operations.  All of them highlight the vital work we do, and how our crews really do help to save lives.  We are so grateful to each of them for allowing us to share their stories and help us educate people about the work our charity does.  As an independent charity which receives no direct government funding, we rely solely on charitable donations so having previous patients share their stories really do help us spread the word.”

Read a little more about each of their stories HERE.

A former patient has thanked the Yorkshire Air Ambulance heroes who saved his life, after a horrific crash on A64 last year.

On November 22^nd 2021, James Eastwood, 38, an Operations Director for a food company from Wakefield, was travelling to work in Malton on the A64 when his car collided with another vehicle. He has no memory of the incident, apart from a Paramedic saying ‘let’s give him morphine’.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance dispatched their aircraft and due to the extent of James’ injuries, he was flown to the nearest major trauma centre, Leeds General Infirmary.

Tests at the hospital revealed that James had broken his spine in four places, suffered internal bleeding and seriously damaged his bowels. He spent 21 days in the hospital and has endured four surgeries.

James is still recovering from a lot of his injuries but is now able to walk again, he still experiences pain. He has now registered to become a volunteer for the charity, and providing his recovery goes well, he is planning on running 8 miles from his home in Wakefield to Leeds General Infirmary to raise money for the charity later this year. He will be joined by 10 of his friends, family and co-workers.

Speaking of the air ambulance, James said: “I had heard of Yorkshire Air Ambulance, but I had no idea that they are a charity. If it wasn’t for them, I would not have made it to the hospital in time by land ambulance due to massive internal bleeding. I’m really grateful for all they did and want to give back to them by doing all I can.”

Yorkshire Air Ambulance is an independent charity that needs to raise £12,000 a day to keep both of Yorkshire’s air ambulances maintained and in the air. The donations they receive are the life-blood of the charity. To find out more about the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, please visit: https://www.yorkshireairambulance.org.uk/

Catch up on other YAA news HERE.