Peter Cottrell

On Mother’s Day, in March 2013, I was critically injured in a cycling accident in Westerham near Sevenoaks in Kent.

It happened while I was out for a 30-mile Sunday ride, which I did regularly to keep fit. I was heading down Westerham Hill, the fastest part of the route and came off my bike.  

The crew from KSS were quickly dispatched after police officers and a land ambulance crew were first at the scene, reporting the extent of my head and chest injuries. 

Their team cared for me and took me to the major trauma centre at King’s College Hospital, arriving within 16 minutes of take-off. I then spent a month in King’s College and Princess Royal University Hospitals, being looked after brilliantly by the staff at both places. 

I’ve never known why my accident happened and even now eleven years on, it’s never bothered me much that I don’t know. Within a couple of days of waking up in hospital I was thinking ‘The important thing is that I’m still alive; now I need to look forwards. I just need to recover and get back to my normal life.’ 

The critical care KSS provided for Peter 

Ben Macauley, KSS Paramedic: “I remember it was a cold spring day when we received the call that Peter had fallen from his bike and needed our critical care. Our team of a doctor, myself and one pilot (at the time we only flew with only one pilot but now we always fly with two), took off from Redhill Aerodrome. We arrived overhead the scene in under 10 minutes. I knew the area, and I knew Westerham Hill, and even with the limited information passed to us, it sounded serious. 

“We landed close to the scene, a landing classed as an ‘Alpha’ landing, which means we were less than 50 metres from the patient and could take all our medical equipment from the aircraft and get to the patient in under a minute. We found a small hole in the hedge which gave us access to the road from the field where we had landed. 

“Peter was still unconscious, he had a significant head injury, a fractured collar bone and likely fractures to ribs on his right side. His right lung had collapsed and was starting to block his airway. We gave Peter a general anaesthetic at the roadside to protect his airway, control his breathing and try to stop his brain injury from getting worse. 

“We worked hard to stabilise him, his right lung had completely collapsed so I cut a small hole in the right side of Peter’s chest which enabled me to re-inflate his collapsed lung which improved the situation, although Peter was now depending on us for everything, not least to breathe for him. We secured Peter on a rescue stretcher, carefully got him into the helicopter and airlifted him to King’s College Hospital. 

“I’ve had the privilege of meeting Peter several times and even speaking with him at KSS’s Christmas Carol Concert in 2019. Thanks to the wonderful dedication and generosity of our supporters we were able to care for Peter and thousands of other patients since then.  

A slow but steady recovery 

My mental recovery has always been as important to me as my physical recovery. Over time I ticked things off like cycling again, going swimming and getting back to work. Flying to Sweden to see my family there was another really important milestone for me, which I did less than a year after my accident. 

I know that all of this was only made possible because KSS were there for me that day. 

After four years I decided I could take on a more significant physical challenge, so I entered the Hever Castle Triathlon to raise money for KSS. 

Getting through the training and completing the race proved that any aches and pains I might still have shouldn’t stop me from getting outside and taking on new challenges. 

Two years later and keen for another challenge, I decided I’d try to walk solo, 100 miles from Botany Bay near Broadstairs in Kent to the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at the Dartford Crossing. 

On a sunny June morning, with a good luck card from KSS in my rucksack, I started my walk at Botany Bay, near Broadstairs. Over four days I walked from there to my finishing point under the southern end of the bridge. 

As I looked up at it, I was so pleased, not just because I’d raised money, but also because I had such an adventure doing something that I never would have contemplated without that motivation. 

Fundraising and volunteering is so rewarding 

I’ve carried on fundraising for KSS. Not because KSS ever expect me to do anything for them, because they don’t.  I do it because I enjoy it and get such a buzz out of doing my various fundraising challenges. It’s a brilliant, really rewarding thing to do. 

Last year I became a volunteer, which has been great fun and meant I have met lots of new people.  Highlights have been helping at the Heli Hikes and an Emergency Services Family Fun Day. 

At Heli Hike at Night last year, I walked alongside two families with small children who did a brilliant job of getting around the three-mile course.  At the Fun Day I was lucky enough to be nearby when one of the helicopters landed; seeing the excitement of the visitors as they watched it was a privilege. 

I was also given the honour of speaking at KSS’s 30th Anniversary Carol Concert at Rochester Cathedral and the memory of that will stay with me forever. 

I’ve just completed the learning needed to enable me to give presentations about KSS for community groups and events.  I think this will be a really rewarding way of helping to spread the word about how critical the work KSS does is and the importance of fundraising. 

By staying friends with KSS I’m looking forward and not back. The money that people raised 11 years ago meant there was a helicopter and crew to help me, and every penny raised now goes to help those that will need KSS in the future. 

Peter and Ben at KSS’s Christmas carol concert in 2019
Peter after completing the Hever Castle Triathlon
By staying friends with KSS I’m looking forward and not back. I want to raise money to help people who end up in difficult circumstances like I did, to ensure that they get the same chance as me.
Under the QEII bridge, the finish point for Peter's 25 miles a day for four days

Our patients are at the centre of what we do.

There is nothing more heart-warming for our team than when a former patient gets in touch and wants to visit us. If you, or a family member, has been a patient of ours and would like to get in touch, we would love to hear from you. 

Saving lives when every second counts

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