My story and the Midlands Air Ambulance started on the 1st May, 1990, when at approximately 4pm on what I am told was a bright sunny afternoon. On that day I was working as Motorway Police Officer, in company with a college, when we were called to attend a single vehicle road accident on the West bound carriageway of the M.42, approximately half a mile from the Bromsgrove slip road.

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On arrival we found the vehicle on its side in lane 3 for the carriageway, with the occupants trying to extract themselves. Traffic was building rapidly behind the scene, we took up a position to the rear of the damaged vehicle and assisted the ambulance crew, who had arrived, and began attending to the male and female occupants. Due to the injuries they had sustained, it was decided to take them to the Redditch Hospital for further treatment. My colleague and I assisted by a Fire Crew from Bromsgrove, who had attended the scene due to the spillage of oil and water on the carriageway, managed to put the vehicle back on its wheels and then we towed it onto the hard shoulder with our Range Rover. The crew from the Fire appliance washed down the road and swept up some of the debris, before returning to their base. The Motorway was then re-opened  and traffic started to flow past the scene.

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My colleague I sat in our vehicle, completing the necessary paperwork relative to the incident, awaiting the recovery lorry to collect the damaged car. Some 20 minutes later, we were contacted by our Headquarters and asked to search the damaged car, as the female passenger had lost her expensive gold bracelet in the incident. 

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At this point, the damaged car was still on the hard shoulder, facing back the way it had come, with the drivers door close to the metal barrier. My colleague went to the driver side of the car and was able to lean in, I went to the front passenger door and was able to squeeze through, although, due t the damage, I could not open it fully, but with the door partially open, it did not infringe onto the live carriageway.

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At some point, a driver travelling down the M.42 in a Vauxhall Cavalier, apparently fell asleep veered across the motorway and ran into the car I was searching on the hard shoulder. The impact shot the damaged car, with myself inside, some 20 yards along the hard shoulder into the rear of our Range Rover.  The impact into the rear of the Range Rover was so hard, the damaged car bounced back along the hard shoulder, to be struck a second time by the Vauxhall, which was spinning on the carriageway.

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Thankfully a number of cars stopped, especially an elderly couple who ran to my colleague, who had received a glancing blow to his head, causing some lacerations throwing him backwards onto the grass embankment. He assured the couple, that he was Ok and that I was in the wreckage,  they assured him that there was nobody there, on his instance they went to look and found myself, lifeless, trapped in the bodywork of the wreckage. By leaning through the broken rear window, the lady, could only just reach my head and neck. On checking she was able to see there was no pulse in my neck and was only able to lift my head to start me breathing again.  In the meantime, the original ambulance was re-tasked on coming back to the scene, similarly the fire crew, were in the process of cleaning the fire appliance, were also re-tasked to return.

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Once on scene the ambulance personnel could do little to assist as I was still entangled in the wreckage, the Fire personnel had to use the hydraulic cutters, to take off the roof of the wrecked car. The Ambulance personnel; had in the meantime, due to medical deterioration and as I was likely to be trapped for a little while, called for the on call "Flying Doctor" who were local GPs, equipped with pagers, there were no mobile phones then, who would if asked would  attend medical emergence's,  Luckily the "Flying Doctor" has it happened was only a mile away on a house call and drove to the scene.

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He was able to administer some drugs, until I could be freed, due to my medical condition he requested that I be taken as soon as possible to the Birmingham Accident Hospital, in Bath Row, the centre of Birmingham. It was suggested that a police escort would be available for the ambulance, however the GP explained as I was freed that this was ;likely not to be quick enough, due to my worsening medical situation. As there was no Air Ambulance, in those days, the West Midlands Police kindly volunteered there helicopter. This landed on the Motorway, a lot of the Polce equipment was taken out to make room for the stretcher , accompanied by the GP and one of the Police Observers and the pilot.

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Some ten minutes later after being loaded into the helicopter, it landed on a grassed area, opposite the Accident Hospital. and I was rushed across the road into the Major |Injuries Unit.   Becoming the first helicoptered patient into the hospital. Here I was assessed by the Duty Medical Trauma team of Doctors and Senior Nurses, before being whisked into the operating theatre.  There then followed, quite a harrowing time by all accounts, receiving over a 100 units of blood over some 48 hours, due to a ruptured blood vessel in my abdomen, with  numerous operating theatre visits for myself to repair this damage and other major internal issues.

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I spent 4 weeks in the Major Injuries Unit, placed in a controlled coma by the medical team. This was to allow two separate fractured vertebrae in my upper and lower spine to heal, along with four fractured ribs.  I made another guest appearance in the operating theatre, once I had medically stabilized for both my lower legs and ankle to be realigned and metal fixations to hold the broken bones together.

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I had been receiving some physio sessions, in the interim time, to enable me to learn to walk and move myself on crutches and then elbow crutches.  I was discharged from hospital after seven weeks, though having to attend physiotherapy sessions, as I was unable to drive, so had to arrange transport, twice a week to the Accident Hospital. After some three weeks, it was arranged that I would attend a hospital in Worcester, twice a week, for further physio sessions, as the travelling to Birmingham was not assisting my recovery.. This continued for approximately 3 months, before I was discharged from there also.

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There then began a long struggle to continue with the physio sessions, initially through a local gym and then I was helped and supported by the then civilian Sports Officer at the West Mercia Police, who arranged for myself, driven by my wife to the Police gym, twice a week.

It was during this time, that both myself and my wife were aware that my mental ability was not functioning as it should. Luckily a good friend put me in contact with an organisation called Headway, who assist and advise people who has suffered, through illness or an accident with an Acquired Brian Injury. The help and support from our councillor was immense and helped my wife and certainly myself to understand what was happening to my brain and strategies to compensate.

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Some six months later, one of my former senior officers approached myself and explained that plans were in hand for an Air Ambulance to be started for the Midlands Region.  They were keen to use my scenario to prove that rapid transfer with medical care to hospitals by helicopter could help save lives.  As I have no memory of that day of the incident or the twelve months before, one of my senior officers who attended and assisted at the scene, put together a resume, which I could follow. It was a complete shock, when I realized how lucky I had been that day and the months after.  The Trauma Surgeons who had worked on me at the hospital, were adamant that had it not been for this rapid transfer I would have lost the fight to survive. Also, I understand that Professor Sir Keith PORTER , as he now is who was the senior Trauma specialist at the Hospital and who had supervised my treatment, had been working for some months to establish the helicopter service in the Midlands. In a way, what occurred to myself on that day, gave him more creditability in his drive to establish this service.

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In the following months, my wife and I attended a  number of presentations to various medical, ,health and business organisations, to explain what had occurred to myself and the rapid transfer gave myself and the medical specialist that "Golden Hour" to help save people.

The service did get launched, myself and my wife were invited to attend that launch, of out first Air Ambulance, which I found very humbling.

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My wife and I have continued to work, and still do to support and help to raise awareness of the service and the fact that it can and does help to save lives.

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We are both extremely proud to be involved with the Midlands Air Ambulance and to see it rise, like a young bird, from a mere fledgling to now having three helicopters, operating from three bases across the Midlands, providing and giving those that need it that all important chance of a "Flight For Life". As it did for me.