Yvonne Cocks joined the newly formed ‘Air5’ as a flight paramedic, but just a few years later, she would find herself relying on the vital service herself.
THIS IS
YVONNE'S STORY.
When Yvonne Cocks joined newly formed ‘Air5’ as a flight paramedic in 1991 on a two year secondment, she had no idea that just a few years later, she would find herself relying on the vital service.
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In 1980, Yvonne Cocks started her career in the ambulance service, and went on to become the first female paramedic in Hereford and Worcester. After a recommendation from her Divisional Officer, Yvonne joined the charity, then known as Air5, at Halfpenny Green in 1991, later moving to RAF Cosford.
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Yvonne says: “It was challenging in many ways, but also exciting and rewarding. I gained valuable experience working with severe trauma and it was amazing to be able to give patients such a comfortable ride to hospital.”
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About two and a half years after leaving her role with Midlands Air Ambulance, on Monday 30th October 1995, Yvonne was involved in a road traffic accident travelling from Kingswinford to Telford, suffering from shock and a hairline fracture sternum. Due to the nature of her injuries, ironically Yvonne had to rely on the Midlands Air Ambulance, who were able to administer pain relief and airlift her to hospital within the golden hour, minimising the long term impact of her injuries.
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Yvonne explains: “I wasn’t able to get out of the car or do anything for myself and I just remember seeing this little red bug that was so familiar to me. There was a sense of relief and relaxation, despite my injuries, as I thought oh ok, I know what this is about. One of the paramedics on board was an ex colleague of mine which made me feel really confident and I knew that my journey to hospital would be a good one. ”
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Yvonne attended the charity’s media launch in January at RAF Cosford, and greatly enjoyed meeting the aircrew and seeing the charity’s own helicopter, called GO-MAA. Yvonne continues: “I am quite surprised at how big the helicopters are now. When I was part of the aircrew our helicopters were a lot smaller, barely room for our feet, and I do remember we had to raise money to help pay for our own flight suits!” Yvonne also recalled the challenges faced by the charity in the early days, “I would watch the local news in the evening and sometimes they would report that the charity hadn’t raised enough money to operate the helicopter the next day, and I’d wonder what we would do, but somehow we always flew.”
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