Stamford runner, Barry had already completed five London marathons when in 2002 he was knocked down by a car whilst running and suffered life threatening injuries, including an open book fracture of the pelvis.
He remembers being in severe pain waiting for emergency services to arrive, but the sound of the rotor blades of Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance as it approached reassured him that help was on its way and that he would be ok.
The crew stabilised Barry at the scene and quickly flew him to Grantham & District Hospital where he had an operation to stabilise his pelvis before being transferred to Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre for further treatment.
It was two years later before Barry was able to return to running, although not as extreme as prior to the accident. He said: “It is a miracle, bearing in mind the severity of my injuries, but thanks to the skill of the doctors and paramedics on call that day and the speed in which the helicopter got me to hospital, I have had a full recovery from my injuries.”
As a way of showing his gratitude for the treatment he received, Barry now represents LNAA as a volunteer, giving talks about its life-saving work, and collecting donations throughout the counties.
On 29 June, Barry swapped his trainers for pedal power, and he took on the hundred mile Coast-to-Coast-to-Coast cycle challenge together with ten other dedicated cycling friends and to date have raised over £4,500.
He sums up: “I am proud to help LNAA in some small way, I knew nothing about them before my accident and so to make people aware of the life-saving work of the air ambulance gives me great satisfaction.”
Donations can still be given to Barry on his crowd-funding page: justgiving.com/fundraising/b-daff
Find out how you can fundraise for Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance at their website.
