Crash man Paul Smith to meet paramedic who helped saved him
Aug 8 2008 by Chris Robinson, The Journal
A BIKER who spent five weeks in a coma after a crash is today meeting a man who helped save his life. Paul Smith suffered horrific injuries when he was crushed under his motorcycle last October and spent five months in hospital.
He said the rapid response of the Great North Air Ambulance Service saved his life.
And now he will say thank you to the people who helped with his amazing recovery.
Mr Smith, 46, had been riding his Yamaha Y2FR1 for a final time before he was to lock it away until this year. The biker of 16 years had been riding in the countryside before he was to pick up his girlfriend Lisbeth Lorentzen, 44, at Newcastle Airport, where she was returning from Norway.
But as he approached crossroads at the A695 in Dilston, near Corbridge, Northumberland, he was involved in a crash with two cars.
Mr Smith and a female passenger of the second car suffered multiple injuries and were airlifted to Newcastle General Hospital in two helicopters.
His chances of survival were exceptionally slim.
Mr Smith’s helmet was split in the crash and he suffered a severe head injury, a ruptured aorta, nerve and muscle damage to his right arm and shoulder and a dislocated left thumb. His right leg was broken in five places. He was in a coma at Newcastle General and had an emergency operation at the city’s Freeman Hospital. But after weeks in a wheelchair, Mr Smith, of Wardley, Gateshead, is now able to walk with a stick. He hopes to return to work as a fitter at Stagecoach.
Today he will help launch the Moustache For Cash campaign by the Great North Air Ambulance Service. And in what is set to be an emotional reunion, he will meet paramedic Kevin Hodgson, who helped save his life in the helicopter with colleague Jane Peacock.
Mr Smith said: “I can’t even remember leaving home that day of the accident. It was my favourite biking route and I had been there with friends before – I loved it. We were very fortunate that there was an ex-consultant and a paramedic caught up in the traffic who came to help and today I’m totally unaware who these people are too.
“What the Great North Air Ambulance did for me was they saved my life and it’s the reason I’m still here today. This is not about me – it’s about them.
“It’s a lifeline. They were able to transfer both of us to hospital by helicopter in such a short time. We were also very lucky there was enough medical staff at the Freeman to perform two operations.
“Ever since I got into motorbiking I always gave the odd few pounds to the air ambulance, but never thought that this would happen to me.”
Darren Nichol, 36, of Newton, Stocksfield, Northumberland, admitted careless driving and was fined £600 with £58 costs and eight points on his licence by Tynedale magistrates on March 18.
Has your family been helped by the Great North Air Ambulance Service? Call us on (0191) 201-6003.
Hair-raising campaign starts today
THE Great North Air Ambulance Service will be launching its Moustache For Cash campaign at 11am today on Newcastle’s Town Moor.
It will sell clip-on moustaches for £1 and is appealing for the public to wear them in Great North Air Ambulance Week from September 20 to 28. The charity receives no government or lottery funding and has to raise £60,000 a year for its lifesaving work.
It has three aircraft, based at Durham Tees Valley Airport, Otterburn Army Ranges in Northumberland and Carlisle Airport in Cumbria..
Share
