In early December 2019 Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) gave me the most precious Christmas present ever. The gift of life. Thanks to their speed, skill and care, I survived both a cardiac arrest and a serious head injury. Best of all, I made it home to my family for Christmas – but without KSS I might never have come home at all. Over the festive season their crews will be on duty 24/7 fighting to save more lives like mine. That’s why, although I know times are hard, I’d like to ask you to make a donation to KSS, if you are able to do so.
Let me tell you how KSS gave me the gift of life
One day in December, completely out of the blue, I suffered a cardiac arrest in my local Sainsbury’s in Billingshurst, West Sussex. I’m eternally grateful to the bystanders who helped me in those first few critical moments. One was a nurse who gave me immediate CPR, helped by a local lad who gave me mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Community First Responders soon arrived and got my heart going with the in-store defibrillator. But that wasn’t the end of the story.
Without KSS’s life-saving care, I wouldn’t be here today
When I fell to the floor, I fractured my skull. Those head injuries, along with the chances of suffering a further cardiac arrest, meant my life was still in grave danger. Thankfully, every KSS mission carries a paramedic and a specialist emergency doctor onboard, and I was able to receive life-saving treatment in a supermarket that would normally only be available in A&E. They decided to give me an emergency anaesthetic in the aisle. Once on the helicopter, they placed me on a ventilator and kept me stable until we reached St George’s Hospital in London.
I don’t remember the incident – just waking up feeling awful, but lucky to be alive. I spent two weeks in St George’s, first in intensive care and later for physio to learn how to do simple things like walk again. I was desperate to get home to see my two daughters, partner and family and friends. Finally, two days before Christmas I was discharged. I was so grateful to visit my local pub on Christmas Eve and see some of the people who helped save my life – it was incredibly emotional.
