Before my brain injury I was a crash team medic on helicopters in the military. My last deployment was to the Middle East. I was on leave working for a construction company and needed an air ambulance myself. What are the chances of that?
Following my accident I was in a coma for three months in I.C.U. – intensive care unit – unable to breathe, eat, move, talk, walk, or even open my eyes independently.
My recovery has taken a few years with many life-changing hurdles to overcome. I have been immensely supported by my family, friends, surgeons, doctors, nurses and military personnel, but if it was not for KSS my four children would no longer have a father.
I was working with my eldest son Jake constructing a swimming pool in Ashford. My job was to transport materials on a dumper down a steep slope into the newly-formed pool.
A loose rock caused the wheel to go over the edge. The dumper slid off the ramp trapping me underneath.
The H.S.E. – (Health and Safety Executive) – did an inquiry and found that all safety precautions were taken and it was a one in a million chance of it ever happening.
A SECAmb land ambulance swiftly arrived followed by an air ambulance from Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) with Dr Duncan Bootland, Dr Mike Dias and Paramedic Sam Taylor.
Jake Stevens, Jez’s son, recalls what happened next.
Jake: I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Learning how critical Dad was the KSS team did a great job of keeping me calm to help out. I remember the diesel fuel leaking from the dumper, so we shovelled sand while they were assessing Dad.
He was trapped under the dumper, making it difficult to extract him. As soon as he was taken by air ambulance to King’s College Hospital in London. I went back to Hastings to get my mum returning to King’s to find Dad had come out of surgery, it felt so surreal.
“The care provided we provided made all the difference to Jez”
Dr Duncan Bootland was part of the KSS team that cared for Jez.
Duncan: The flight time to the scene of Jez’s incident south of Ashford was just 28 minutes. The ambulance service had been dispatched and a Critical Care Paramedic had requested our help, so we knew there was a very high likelihood our specialist medical care was going to be needed. Besides our two pilots we were a crew of three; Dr Mike Dias, Paramedic Sam Taylor and I.
When we arrived, Jez was already on a stretcher and it quickly became apparent that he was going to be best served by being taken by air to King’s College Hospital in London, a Major Trauma Centre.
Jez had a head injury, and his level of consciousness was profoundly low. He had abnormal limb movements, a specific sign of brain injury. On top of that his blood pressure was high and his pulse rate was low, which is again a sign that there is pressure within the brain.
Together those things told us that it was very likely he had a very significant brain injury and that he needed to go very rapidly to King’s to have a scan of his head and that there was a good chance that he would need neurosurgery that evening.
Working on a dirt track beside the building we gave him an anaesthetic and prepared him for the flight. After the anaesthetic his blood pressure settled a bit, which was a good sign, and we were able to take over his breathing.
When people have a brain injury several things are very important. One is to make sure the blood pressure is really well managed and that they are getting enough blood to the brain. The second is that their breathing is really well managed in a way that gets enough oxygen in and enough carbon dioxide out. That is an important part of improving outcomes from brain injury, particularly one as severe as in Jez’s case.
Providing the general anaesthetic and getting him settled on a ventilator allowed us to manage both his blood pressure and his breathing.
We were only 30 minutes on the scene as we needed to get Jez rapidly to hospital. It was about 40 minutes from leaving the scene to landing on the helipad at King’s. By road at that time of day would have taken around 1 hour 40 minutes.
Jez had a number of injuries to his brain, but one of the most significant was something called a subdural haemorrhage. This is a bleed around the edge of the brain which is expanding and putting pressure on the brain. We know that for patients like Jez minimising the time it takes to get them into the operating theatre is paramount.
I’m certain the care we provided on scene, and the rapidity with which we can got him to a neurosurgical specialist, made all the difference in maximising the chances of Jez making a successful recovery and is where the air ambulance service really comes into its own.
It was wonderful to meet Jez and his son Jake and see the impact that we have had on their lives.
Jez has made a remarkable recovery
Jez explains: Today I have various disabilities, but it has not stopped me from living an adventurous life, and I have a new empathy to helping others. I have issues with balance and coordination, dexterity, visual disturbances, head pain where my Titanium plate is and a ‘buzzing‘ 24/7.
Apart from those minor inconveniences, I’m ok. In the last two years I have abseiled down Arundel Castle, completed five half marathons, and completed six tandem skydives for various charities.
The professionalism and dedication of Duncan, Mike and Sam has given me a future and I encourage others to contribute to KSS.
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