DSAA Beeline, Issue 1 2017

why we do it
hand and told her that I loved her; I felt this might be my
last chance to do so.
I heard the air ambulance overhead, it sounded
like it was circling, trying to find a place to land. The
ambulance crew from Bristol turned up and before
long the air ambulance crew appeared in their red
flight suits (Critical Care Paramedic Paul Owen and
Dr Phil Hyde were their names).
Paul took charge as soon as he entered the
room. He was kind and reassuring, which was
great as I was so scared of what might be. He
also reassured my wife and daughter and we
sensed we were in the best possible hands. He
introduced Phil who spent time gleaning as much
information from the first responder (I wish I knew
his name!) while examining the ECG printout.
After a quick consultation, it was agreed that the
ambulance would take me to the helicopter, which had
landed on a near playing field, and I would be flown to
the Royal United Hospital in Bath.
Paul asked me if I had flown in a helicopter before;
I told him I used to be a helicopter Flying Instructor in
Henry with
daughter Philippa
and wife Annette
158
patients last
year suffered from
cardiac symptoms
the Army so I was more used to Chinooks! With that, he
made a light-hearted comment to the Pilot (Phil Merritt)
about making the flight a good one, which somehow
lightened the state. He attended to me throughout the
flight, which was extremely quick.
We touched down on the cricket pitch opposite the
A&E department where nurses and porters were waiting
with a trolley. I was whisked straight through the A&E
Department to theatre where a Consultant called Dr
Robert Lowe was waiting for me. I was promptly prepared
for an angioplasty; dye was put into my blood system,
which showed up on a screen and identified that my
right main coronary artery was completely blocked.
Two stents were fitted to open up the walls of the
artery allowing the blood to flow once more. After the
operation I was shown a ‘before and after’ picture of the
state of my arteries. The first (on admittance) showed no
blood flow, just a static set of lines akin to a road map.
The second picture showed a distinctive pulsating of
the arteries and blood now passing through.
I couldn’t believe that within two hours of
experiencing the first signs of my heart attack, I was in
the Coronary Care Unit at RUH Bath recovering from
my ordeal.
It’s almost certain that had I not been treated as
quickly as I did, I would have suffered massive heart
failure. I have no doubt that the speed of the air
ambulance, the care I received from the first
responder and Paul Owen, together with the fact
that a doctor was on board the aircraft (which
ensured my visit to A&E was bypassed) has
saved my life.
I am eternally grateful to the team at Dorset
and Somerset Air Ambulance and will endeavour
to support them for the rest of my days. I have
already signed up to the Charity’s Flight for Life
Lottery and am now the seniors Captain at Mendip Golf
Club for 2017. The biggest thrill of my appointment is
that I get to choose my Charity of the Year. No surprise
which one I picked!!!!!!!
The crew who attended this incident were: Dr Phil
Hyde, CCP Paul Owen and Pilot Phil Merritt
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance @dsairambulance 25
18-29 DSAA_Why we do it.indd 25 09/03/2017 10:22