Simon Wright

Simon Wright, was on his way for Sunday lunch with his family on a warm May Day afternoon in 2016, when a road traffic collision left him with life threatening injuries.

Simon had to be cut free from his car following the collision in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

Due to the severity of the collision, it took around 50 minutes for the emergency services on scene to release Simon from his car.

The Midlands Air Ambulance from RAF Cosford with paramedic Kerry Hemus and Dr Neil Abeysinghe on board attended the scene and were able to sedate Simon, a procedure which a land ambulance crew cannot administer.

As well as two bleeds to the brain, Simon suffered fractures to both legs, fractured ankles and feet, cracked ribs and a broken sternum.

Simon explains: “Unfortunately I have no recollection at all of what happened after the collision. I have since been told that once extracted from my vehicle and sedated, I was flown to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham which is a major trauma centre and the best place to treat my injuries.”

It took just five minutes to transport Simon to hospital by air, a journey that would have taken over 20 minutes by land.

Police escorted Simon’s concerned family to the hospital where he remained in an induced coma for three days. He was admitted to hospital for six weeks and underwent two major surgical operations as well as other treatment.

Simon continues: “The medical advice was clear that the treatment I was given by the aircrew on the scene was hugely beneficial to my recovery.

“I have since been extremely surprised to learn that Midlands Air Ambulance Charity is involved with ‘day-to-day’ traumas. I anticipated the organisation collecting ramblers from the top of mountains, but not attending road traffic collisions on our local roads.

 “I haven’t made a full recovery but I am extremely grateful for everything they did that day. Without the Midlands Air Ambulance, I don’t believe I would be here to share my story.”