With just one more month to go before the end of the year, the LNAA crew are close to matching the total number of missions in 2022.
As of December 1, LNAA has responded to 1,617 emergencies in 2023. Last year the total number of missions was 1,620. This is why they are taking part in The Big Give Christmas Challenge – a one-week campaign that aims to double donations and raise £70,000.
CEO, Karen Jobling, said: “The rising number of missions indicates the crucial role that LNAA plays in delivering life-saving care to those in need across Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. By taking part in The Big Give Christmas Challenge we hope to hit the £70,000 target to enable us to get to more patients this winter.”
Grantham cyclist Mark knows first-hand the difference that the team of highly skilled doctors, paramedics and pilots can make.
Mark suffered a traumatic brain injury and was left fighting for his life after being hit by a car. If it wasn’t for the crew of Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance, Mark believes he would not have survived.
It took less than 15 minutes to fly Mark to Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC). Other injuries included punctured lungs, numerous broken bones and multiple rib fractures. His right leg was so severely damaged that surgeons had to shorten it by 1.5cm and put his leg into a metal frame, so the bones could regrow and reconnect effectively.
Mark was in a coma for five weeks and his chance of survival was low. He received extensive medical care, and eventually transferred to a rehabilitation unit to help prepare him for when he could eventually go home and live an independent life.
Mark said: “It was there that I realised how badly injured I was. Everyday things were suddenly too hard for my brain to work out. It was surreal. I knew my name but couldn’t write it.
“I had to learn to get dressed, clean my teeth and do all those simple tasks including household chores and creating recipes with just two items in them as I could never get a third – it was all too much for my brain.”
Eight years later and Mark is still recovering.
“Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance saved my life that day,” said Mark. “It makes me sad to realise how much I have changed, and it must hurt my wife, Karen immensely to know the person I was has gone, but I am alive and well and we will do our best to look to make a future that we want.”
The charity’s goal is to be by the side of more patients like Mark. Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance needs to raise £10million this year to operate 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week and give patients the best chance of survival.
To help LNAA carry out this work you can support the Big Give Christmas Challenge. All you need to do is visit https://www.ambucopter.org.uk/BigGive and make a donation before midday on Tuesday 5 December.
