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Since
the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air
Ambulance service was launched they have completed more than 10,000
missions. This is a remarkable achievement. From a purely selfish point of
view, there can be few charities more worthy of motorcyclists to support. Below (borrowed from
their website - http://www.wnaa.co.uk/home.html)
is just one story which perfectly illustrates the vital importance of WNAA.
On
25th June 2009 Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance air
lifted 20 year old Zach Davey to hospital following a life threatening
motorcycle accident in Leicestershire. Zach, a window cleaner from Hinkley,
was out enjoying a motorbike ride in the Fen Lanes near Dadlington,
Leicestershire when he lost control of his bike and hit a tree stump with
devastating consequences.
Zack commented, "I was out riding with friends, when suddenly it all went horribly wrong. I can remember swerving to miss a car, hitting a tree stump head on and then waking up and seeing my bike in bits down the road. I started to cry, then tried to get up and couldn't. Next thing I knew I woke up in hospital."
Speed is of the essence when dealing with head injuries therefore the attendance of WNAA was vital in Zach's survival. The crew provided emergency treatment on the scene and then air lifted Zach to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, a journey took under 10 minutes by air and would have taken at least 40minutes by road.
Zach suffered two serious bleeds to the brain and he was put in an induced coma for a week to give his body a chance to recover, he then spent a further week in hospital. "Doctors in the hospital told me that if it wasn't for the Air Ambulance I would have been paralysed or worse and I am truly grateful. Having the Doctor on board the Air Ambulance definitely made a difference. Quite simply they brought hospital to me and saved my life." Zach said.
Zach, alongside two of his friends, Richard Earp and Tom Dickinson have organised a sponsored bike ride to raise much needed funds for the Charity. The determined trio will be riding from John O'Groats to Land's End, starting on the 27th August. The gruelling trip should take them 13 days and they plan to raise £3,000 along the way. To sponsor Zach please log onto www.justgiving.com/thebigcycleride2010, so far the trio are up to £2,340.
"It has been a long road to recovery and now I'm doing well although I do have problems with my short term memory and sometimes can suffer from epileptic fits. However, if it wasn't for the Air Ambulance I may not be here today, let alone cycling nearly 1,000 miles!"
"It is great to be back at work and to be able to help fundraise for them. Although I think I'll stick with a push bike for now!"
Local Air Ambulance, Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAAA) who cover the Leicestershire area were busy on another mission and luckily they were able to call on their sister service, Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance to help.
Dominic Tolley, Director of Air Operations and Clinical Services commented, "Zach's case clearly illustrates the benefits and flexibility of running the two sister services closely. The geographical areas we serve benefit from increased dual cover alongside shared
expertise."
Zach concluded, "I owe my life to the Air Ambulance and the team on board, thanks to everyone for saving my life. When I went to their base it was great to have the opportunity to thank the team and everyone involved. I really found it difficult to find enough words to say thank you.
"Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance is a great cause and my fundraising bike ride is my way of saying thank you and giving a little back to this vital charity."
WNAA
run a host of fundraising events throughout the year, if you want to
support them check out http://www.wnaa.co.uk/events
for more info.
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