Matt’s story contains information about mental health and suicide. Please contact our Patient and Family Aftercare Team if you need support. Dial 111 or contact the Samaritans on 116 123 if you’re in a crisis situation. For support with harmful gambling contact Gamcare on 0808 8020 133.
“I started gambling when I was about 15 or 16. It began with scratch cards and small football bets, and at first, it felt harmless — just part of growing up. By the time I was at university, I was spending more and more time and money on fixed odds betting terminals. What started as social gambling quickly turned into something I did alone, in secret, and obsessively.
After university, I landed a job touring as an actor. It should have been exciting, but the isolation made things worse. I was gambling on my phone constantly —sometimes even in the wings of a show before stepping on stage. I was losing control. At my worst, I was gambling 16 or 17 hours a day.
In early 2016, I hit rock bottom. I had no work, no money, and no purpose. I was living with my parents, pretending everything was fine while secretly gambling all day and night. I felt ashamed, trapped, and hopeless. One night, after losing everything in my account and overdraft, I decided I couldn’t go on.
I don’t remember much about that morning, but I do remember waking up, unable to move. I’d broken my feet, pelvis, ribs, wrist, and back. I was in agony, I just wanted it all to stop.
That’s when Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) arrived. I didn’t know it at the time, but they saved my life. Their team — Dr Richard Lyon, Dr Nicky White, and paramedic Ben Clarke — gave me blood and plasma, performed chest procedures, and flew me to St George’s Hospital in London. Without their advanced care, I wouldn’t have survived. “
KSS Doctor Professor Richard Lyon: “Because Matt’s consciousness level was starting to fall, it was a race against time. We were able to start giving him blood products to replace the blood he was losing, but he was bleeding internally so needed to be seen by a surgeon in hospital.
We had to get Matt from Kent to St George’s Hospital in London as quickly as possible, but we had to do several things before we could transport him.”
Matt needed an anaesthetic, chest surgery, blood and plasma, and an air ambulance to fly him to St George’s, a major trauma centre. Without all of four of these advanced lifesaving interventions, in addition to the care already being provided by the South East Coast Ambulance Service team, the outcome might have been very different.
“I woke up 17 days later in the Intensive Care Unit. It took a while to understand what had happened, but when I did, something shifted. I started talking to my parents and therapists. The physical recovery was long and painful, but it gave me something to focus on. Slowly, I began to heal – physically and mentally.
Eight years on, I’m living a very different life. I met my wife, Tish, two years after the incident. I gave up acting and went into youth work, eventually joining GamCare, the charity behind the National Gambling Helpline. I now work as a Business Development Manager, helping to set up projects that support people affected by gambling. I also go into schools to share my story and help young people understand the risks.
Football has become a big part of my mental health. I’m a huge Spurs fan, and being able to walk to a match and enjoy the game is a milestone I never thought I’d reach.
“I didn’t realise KSS had treated me until I read the diary my family kept while I was in a coma. I used to think air ambulances just got people to hospital quickly. But when I learned what KSS actually did — surgery, transfusions, critical care — I was blown away. They didn’t just save my life; they gave me the chance to rebuild it.”
Richard Lyon: “After caring for a patient like Matt you first wonder if the medicine and the science was able to keep them alive. Then there’s personal element; what he’s like as a person and what his life is like now.
“That’s something we rarely find out, so to hear that Matt has been able to turn his life around is incredible. Not only have we saved him, but he’s gone on to use his experience to help others in the same situation. For me that was amazing.”
I want people to know that recovery is possible. Gambling addiction is invisible and isolating, but help is out there. If you’re struggling, please reach out to Samaritans (116123) or GamCare (0808 8020 133). You’re not alone.
