It was a journey Adam had made countless times before on his moped, from his home in Radstock to his college not far away. However one day this familiar journey ended with him travelling to hospital by air ambulance.

Adam was on his way to college to begin the second year of his painting and decorating course when he misjudged the traffic at a set of traffic lights and hit the island in the middle of the road. He was thrown off his bike and as he flew through the air his helmet, which had not been done up properly, came off.

Adam landed on his head, causing a serve head injury and fracturing his skull in two places. He also bruised his lungs and damaged his pancreas. These injuries were life-threatening and if he had any chance of surviving he needed expert help immediately.

Great Western Air Ambulance Charity's Critical Care Team were called, and flew to the scene in 11 minutes. On board the helicopter were Critical Care Paramedic James Yates, and Critical Care Doctor Rich Reed. The team bring the expertise and skills found in a hospital accident and emergency department to the scene of an incident. James said:

“When we arrived on scene we assessed Adam and found that he had a serious head injury and a suspected skull fracture. We carried out an emergency anesthetic procedure on scene called a Rapid Sequence Induction to protect his brain. We then airlifted him to Southmead Hospital, which is the major trauma centre for the region.”

When Adam arrived in hospital he was taken straight into intensive care, and spent three weeks in a coma. His family were told to prepare for the worst. Adam’s mother Jane said:

“When we arrived at the hospital, we were told how seriously ill Adam was and that the next 48 hours would be critical. The consultant told me that if Adam had not had the critical care team and been airlifted to hospital he would not have survived the journey by road.”

After five and a half months in hospital Adam was allowed home, and will make a full recovery.

If you or someone you know has been helped by the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity team, we’d love to invite you to meet the crew who help you. You can get in touch using our ‘Contact form.