Episode 5 Close Calls: On Camera


Episode 5

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A close call, a moment of danger when life can hang in the balance...

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I could die here, this is really serious.

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..a split second where the outcome could go either way...

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Right, call 999 now.

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..the difference between disaster and survival.

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You could see it on the faces of the crew how life-threatening this was.

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Why would you need to swim?

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Apparently, they're supposed to still be on a boat.

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These are the people that have been there and lived to tell the tale.

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I thought she had died.

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It's a day they'll never forget -

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the day they had a close call.

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Today on Close Calls...

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a couple's romantic break at a converted fort a mile out at sea

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ends in disaster. Julian and Linda are celebrating

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their silver wedding anniversary when she suddenly collapses.

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I did not know where help was going to come from.

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A Coastguard helicopter races to the scene and a lifeboat is launched,

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but by the time they arrive, Linda's condition is deteriorating fast.

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You could see it on the faces of the rest of the crew

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how life-threatening this was.

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And a trucker has just seconds to save his own life

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as another driver's load hurtles towards him.

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Spitbank Fort, a mile off the coast of Portsmouth.

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A Coastguard helicopter and a lifeboat are called to the scene

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of an accident at the converted sea fort, now a luxury hotel.

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A woman celebrating her wedding anniversary has fallen

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and suffered a severe head injury.

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Her husband is panic-stricken.

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I was thinking, if help doesn't come,

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this girl is going to bleed to death.

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The isolated fort can only be reached by helicopter or boat,

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but with the minutes ticking away,

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the medics on board both are going to be working against the clock.

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Helicopter medic Dave is part of a busy Coastguard team based at Lee-on-Solent.

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He's got 40 years on the job.

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It's a bank holiday Monday and the whole crew have had an early start,

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taking part in a search operation along the south coast.

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But they've just received an urgent call to divert to Spitbank Fort Hotel,

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a mile out at sea, where a woman has collapsed and has serious injuries.

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Dave receives a full briefing en route.

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You know there's no medics on there, so you want to get there

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to get medical help as your first priority.

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Members of the Gosport and Fareham inshore lifeboat service are also scrambled.

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Ambulance technician Chris is one of the team who responds.

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I was having a lie-in on the bank holiday Monday.

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My four-year-old knocked me on the head with my pager going off,

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and obviously proceeded down to the lifeboat station.

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He's beaten to it by James, who films using a head cam.

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I was one of the first to arrive, so it's my job to help get the boat out.

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Get ready, get in a suit, make sure that we're on the water

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and heading to the emergency as quickly as we can.

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Skipper Phil spots the Coastguard team.

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Whenever the helicopter's involved in an incident,

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to us, it instantly increases the urgency

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and the severity of the incident we're going to.

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Chris arrives and the team are ready to launch.

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We waited for him to board the vessel cos he has a wealth of medical knowledge.

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My training includes intrafibrillation, oxygen therapy,

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scene management and extrication training that are above and beyond

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obviously a normal first aider, which our crews are.

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-RADIO:

-'Solent Coastguard, Gosport lifeboat...'

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As they get closer to the fort, they can see the Coastguard helicopter hovering above.

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Last time they did this, it was an exercise.

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Today that could pay off.

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We all know what each other do

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and so that saves critical time - minutes and seconds.

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While they power across the water,

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winchman Dave has already been lowered onto the fort

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from the helicopter and reached the female victim.

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I was pretty certain that she'd suffered a significant head injury.

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I also noticed that there was blood, what appeared to be clear fluid,

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coming out of her left ear.

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Now, that clear fluid is cerebral spinal fluid, OK?

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So again, you know you're dealing with a fractured skull.

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He knows he'll need help

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and it arrives within minutes.

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The lifeboat crew scramble up the ladder, with James still filming.

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This is his footage.

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Lying barely conscious on the stone floor of a corridor

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on one of the fort's upper decks is Linda.

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Dave kneels at her side.

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Nearby, her husband Julian waits anxiously,

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along with members of the hotel staff.

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She didn't fall unconscious at any point.

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So she shouted as soon as she hit the ground, did she?

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Yes, she did. She was responsive throughout the whole time.

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All right. OK. All right, Linda, what I want you to do for me...

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I knew we were dealing with a serious situation.

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You could see it on the faces of the rest of the crew

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how life-threatening this was.

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The trip to the fort had all started so differently

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for devoted Southsea couple Julian and Linda,

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who've been together for 31 years.

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We've been married 25 years, but we've known each other for 31.

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Linda, she is a gregarious person and she means everything to me.

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I can't believe that 31 years has passed.

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With their silver wedding anniversary approaching,

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Linda arranges a special night away.

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Her chosen hotel is only a few miles from their home -

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nautical miles, that is.

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I heard about Spitbank Fort through a colleague at work.

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It's been modernised and converted into a leisure site.

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I thought that sounded ideal.

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She had booked a night,

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which was reassuringly expensive.

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We don't normally stay in luxury hotels and this was

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a good opportunity to spend some money and lavish it upon ourselves.

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The couple are excited as they set off on a bright August day

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to celebrate at sea.

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The boat got us out from Gunwharf to the fort in about ten minutes.

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It's a lovely place to have some time together

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and look out at the place that you've lived all your life

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from a different angle.

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We were given a champagne reception and then they just take you round

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the fort. We had our lunch and then after that, we...

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..went and made cocktails in the bar at the top.

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Went and chilled out in the hot tub under the light of the stars.

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It's proving a magical experience for them both,

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but it's going to be short-lived.

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The following morning,

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we went off to breakfast at 8:30,

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I felt unwell and excused myself.

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I didn't think there was much to worry about.

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Sometimes you don't feel great.

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It was quite early.

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I hadn't got very far actually, just out of the dining room

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onto the concrete flooring, and...

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..I fell.

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And apparently I screamed, and that must have alerted the staff.

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As she falls, her head hits the stone floor.

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And that's pretty much where Linda's memory of their special night on the fort ends.

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But for Julian, every last second of what follows

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is etched in his mind forever.

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As one of the staff tends to Linda, another rushes to fetch him.

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I went over by her side and...

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..tried to do what I could to...

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..reassure her.

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She wanted to be sick.

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And she was laying on her side and she was bleeding heavily from her ear.

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Julian is gripped with fear.

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They're on a fort a mile off the coast, surrounded by water,

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with only the staff and other visitors.

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I did not know where help was going to come from.

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We were out in the middle of the Solent...

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..she needed help, I didn't know where it was going to come from.

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I remember panicking about that.

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Rescue workers discover Linda's injuries are very serious.

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And it's a race against time to get her off the fort.

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I was concerned for her. Very, very concerned.

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Our biggest fear that Linda would lose consciousness

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and ultimately, further down the line,

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she could eventually die from that serious head injury.

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Falling ill out at sea must be a pretty frightening experience,

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but at least we know there are volunteers out there ready to help.

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But now back to dry land, where a fast reaction time,

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literally a split second, can make all the difference.

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Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

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An HGV driver approaches a roundabout on a busy main road.

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His dash cam is recording the journey.

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Less than 50 metres from the junction,

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he sees a builder's truck laden with scaffolding

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heading towards him from the opposite direction.

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As it begins to pull level, he has two seconds to save his life.

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All I knew is I had to duck.

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David Monaghan is a professional driver.

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These days he's mostly behind the wheel of his car,

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but for more than 30 years, he's driven enormous HGVs,

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transporting food around the country.

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What I like about HGV driver, I'm more-or-less my own boss.

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I've got nobody looking over my shoulder,

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telling me what I can and cannot do.

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I drive the road, the road tells me what I can and cannot do.

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David lives with his wife Barbara in Eccles, Greater Manchester.

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They have four children, eight grandchildren

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and two great-grandchildren.

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He loves driving, he's done it for quite a number of years now,

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so it's his passion.

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There's nobody there to mither him so he can just get on

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with doing what he enjoys most.

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When he isn't behind the wheel, David's very much the family man.

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Everybody would say their dad's the best dad they could ever have,

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but in my terms, he really is.

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Anybody needs help, even outside the family,

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they'll always come to my dad.

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Although he loves his job, David admits it has its stresses.

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You have to have good reactions to be a driver, because

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in a fully loaded articulated vehicle, it's 44 tonne.

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It's not a car. Can't stop like a car.

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So we have to be aware of what's coming up beside of you,

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what's in front of you, what's further up the road

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and what you're carrying.

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When he's on the road, the family can't help worrying about him,

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particularly when they see some of the footage

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his dash cam has captured.

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It does scare you because you hear of wagons coming off bridges,

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getting blown over, other wagons falling asleep

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and crossing central reservations.

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-You hear it all the time.

-I've worried about him for years.

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My worst fear is someone knocking on the door and saying

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there's been a bad accident. That is my worst fear.

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As soon as he walks through that door, I can,

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you know, sigh of relief.

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He's home yet again.

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During his 30 years crisscrossing the country,

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David's had his own occasional near misses with other drivers.

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That's why he's installed a front-facing dash cam.

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Numerous people have clipped me...

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..and I have to prove my innocence.

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I thought if I've got a dash cam, I don't have to prove anything.

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The videos show it all.

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In the early hours, one cold January morning,

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David sets off from his Manchester depot

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with a truck full of deliveries.

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I drove all the way down to Shrewsbury...

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..done three drops, just coming up to the roundabout,

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bin wagon in front of me.

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Turn left, he got away,

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then the transit van came off the roundabout with his indicator on.

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Just looked at him.

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The van is a builder's pick-up, carrying a scaffolding platform.

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It exits the roundabout and heads up the road towards him.

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But the platform isn't fully secure.

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A split second later, it starts to slide.

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I knew I was going to get hit.

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Where I was going to get hit, didn't have a clue.

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Whether it would land on the floor and hit the engine,

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didn't have a clue. All I knew is, I had to duck.

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In one dramatic moment,

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David lowers his head and body behind the wheel and dives down

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towards the footwell. As he does,

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the metal scaffolding platform, weighing 200 kilos,

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crashes through his windscreen.

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The speed he was going, the speed I was going,

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total impact 50-plus miles per hour.

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It's like putting a spear into butter.

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It just goes straight through it.

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The clock on the dash cam records less than two seconds between

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the huge load sliding towards him and smashing through the cab.

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I just heard the glass shatter.

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Didn't see nothing. Didn't know nothing.

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How was I able to react to it quickly?

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I haven't got a clue.

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It was instantaneous.

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Didn't think about it.

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The scaffolding platform passes over David's head

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and comes to rest in the driver's position,

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at head height.

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Somehow, David brings the truck to a stop.

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He's stunned into silence.

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Only the sound of the vehicle's fan can be heard.

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Outside, other motorists who witnessed the accident are frozen in horror.

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It takes 41 seconds before one reaches him.

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I'm all right.

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Get an ambulance.

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He opened the door. He asked me, am I all right?

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I couldn't say nothing cos I was covered in glass.

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Then I heard him say, "Do you want to me to turn the engine off?"

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And that's when I realised I still had my foot on the clutch.

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And my foot on the brake.

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David's reflex action has stopped the truck careering through the roundabout.

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The next driver to get to David is an off-duty paramedic.

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I was just showered in glass, blood on my face.

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The scaffolding platform was over the top of my head.

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I couldn't get up. I was told to stay where I was.

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An ambulance crew arrive and help David out of his wrecked cab.

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As I was climbing down, that's when I knew I'd hurt my back and my neck.

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They fear he has whiplash from the impact and the speed he had to move to avoid it.

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Later, David sends son Michael some photographs of his lorry.

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I was laughing at it at first.

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I thought, he's gone to work and somebody's smashed the wagon up.

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Then he texts back, "I just ducked."

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So obviously when I got that I thought, this is...

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I just went white and went dead cold and it just freaked me out.

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Michael phones his dad straightaway,

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who instructs him not to tell his mum.

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Instead, Michael rushes over to see his sister, Joanne,

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who lives across the street.

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He showed me the pictures of me dad's wagon and I was like,

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"Whoa, that's close, how's the driver?"

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And that's when my brother turned round and said it's me dad.

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And I was just... I was just in shock.

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And she just stood there and she just went...

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"Nearly lost me dad."

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And we both just stood there and stared at each other for a few minutes.

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Back at the scene, David's truck is towed away

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and after the ambulance crew treat his cuts and grazes,

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a colleague collects him and takes him home.

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He just showed me the photographs, he didn't say anything,

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just said he nearly wasn't home, and they were horrendous.

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Just couldn't believe that something like that had happened.

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He showed me the video and that was even worse.

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I was crying and he didn't really speak much.

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But later, the shock registers.

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I think it was about ten o'clock that night

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that he started feeling emotional

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and I think that's when it really set in, that what's just happened.

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You know, "I shouldn't be here now."

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David's close call has had a lasting effect.

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He's suffering from post-traumatic stress

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and currently isn't able to drive commercial vehicles.

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I do still watch the dash cam video now and again.

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Just to remind myself just how close I did come...

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..to being killed.

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Like you say...

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..two seconds from death.

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At an isolated hotel based on a fort in the middle of the Solent,

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wedding anniversary celebrations for mum-of-two Linda ended suddenly

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when she collapsed and hit her head.

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A Coastguard helicopter and a lifeboat have responded to the emergency.

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The lifeboat crew have just arrived at the scene

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to discover Linda's condition is grave.

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They've linked up with helicopter winchman paramedic Dave

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from the Coastguard, who's seriously concerned.

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Hotel staff have told him what happened.

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She'd suddenly gone rigid when she was stood

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and went straight back like an ironing board,

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and banged her head, and the ground that she banged her head on

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was solid granite.

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I was pretty certain that she'd suffered a significant head injury.

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I also noticed that there was blood and what appeared to be clear fluid

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coming out of her left ear.

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Now, that clear fluid is cerebral spinal fluid, OK?

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So again, you know you're dealing with a fractured skull.

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Dave's also concerned Linda may have damaged her spine.

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So you don't want to move that patient initially at all really.

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The lifeboat team, working alongside Dave, film, using a helmet camera.

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She was just being tended to by the paramedic from the helicopter.

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There was a lot of noise, a lot of commotion.

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They were obviously glad to see us and Linda was in a very upset state

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with an obvious head injury.

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As she went back, was she unconscious?

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Her husband Julian, circled here, is glad to see them.

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One of them went round and collected information from the witnesses and myself.

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Paramedic winchman Dave and lifeboat medic Chris

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liaise about what's needed.

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This lady was going to have a C-spine collar put on.

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Stay with me, Linda.

0:20:290:20:30

'We were going to stretcher her off and get her evacuated as quickly as possible.'

0:20:310:20:37

But they're worried about further complications.

0:20:370:20:40

Our biggest fear that Linda would lose consciousness and ultimately,

0:20:400:20:43

further down the line, she could eventually die from that serious head injury.

0:20:430:20:47

Can you open your eyes for me?

0:20:470:20:48

We were allocated obviously different roles,

0:20:480:20:50

who would take charge of the head,

0:20:500:20:52

who would take charge of personal possessions,

0:20:520:20:54

who would take charge of Linda's husband.

0:20:540:20:56

He was very, very worried.

0:20:560:20:58

We just had to try and speak to him and get any information from him,

0:20:580:21:01

and try and calm him as well.

0:21:010:21:04

-Help me.

-We're going to help you, Linda.

-Help me.

0:21:040:21:07

While the paramedics and crew get to work, Julian feels helpless.

0:21:070:21:11

Help me.

0:21:110:21:12

When someone you know and love is distressed like that

0:21:120:21:16

and they're calling out for help, you want to help them,

0:21:160:21:19

and you're trying to think of more things that you could do to help.

0:21:190:21:22

OK, go.

0:21:230:21:25

I now knew that she was being treated by a team

0:21:250:21:29

that's going to make things all right.

0:21:290:21:32

So from that point of view, I was calm, but I... Inside, I was...

0:21:320:21:36

I was shaking.

0:21:360:21:38

If you can get the husband just to even just hold their hand,

0:21:380:21:40

it occupies his mind. If he talks to his wife, they can...

0:21:400:21:45

they can hear it and it obviously gives the casualty

0:21:450:21:48

a bit of comfort as well.

0:21:480:21:49

Working as quickly as they can,

0:21:490:21:51

Dave and the team secure Linda on the stretcher.

0:21:510:21:55

But soon they need to climb up the fort's steep metal ladders

0:21:550:21:58

and slippery stone stairways to reach the upper deck

0:21:580:22:02

and call the helicopter back in.

0:22:020:22:04

Those are the stairs we're going up.

0:22:040:22:06

The top stairs, they slope, the metal ones.

0:22:060:22:09

Sorry, the concrete ones, they're a little bit smoother

0:22:090:22:11

cos they've worn away. OK, watch your footing.

0:22:110:22:14

All right, darling?

0:22:140:22:15

We are just going to wrap you up nice and warm, OK?

0:22:150:22:18

Once we'd packaged Linda up into the rescue stretcher for the helicopter,

0:22:180:22:23

my job was then to coordinate our team,

0:22:230:22:25

how we were going to get her safely up,

0:22:250:22:27

coordinate with them to...safety lines.

0:22:270:22:30

And you're just going to go up ahead of us, so if something goes

0:22:300:22:33

-wrong, you can just sit down and just hold until we readjust.

-Yes.

0:22:330:22:36

But even if they make it up the steps,

0:22:360:22:38

they face another challenge at the top.

0:22:380:22:40

We needed to use a high line for this extrication, because it's very

0:22:420:22:45

dangerous to have the helicopter close to the Victorian fort.

0:22:450:22:48

So what we do is we winch them off and then guide the winchman

0:22:480:22:51

so he doesn't go into a spin because of the downdraught

0:22:510:22:54

hitting the water at the side of the fort.

0:22:540:22:56

The team's experience shows, as they carefully carry Linda up the steps

0:23:030:23:07

with the deafening noise of the helicopter overhead.

0:23:070:23:10

Once we got there, we had to ensure a clear, safe area,

0:23:100:23:13

make sure the rope wasn't going to get tangled.

0:23:130:23:15

Everyone's aware time is running short.

0:23:150:23:18

They must get Linda on board the helicopter and to a hospital

0:23:180:23:22

or she won't survive.

0:23:220:23:23

She had deteriorated quite a bit. She'd gone very quiet.

0:23:230:23:26

She had a very vice-like grip on her hand.

0:23:270:23:30

We knew that she was getting worse at that point.

0:23:300:23:32

She started getting a lot of bruising around her eyes.

0:23:320:23:35

Again, that's a sign that she has got a fractured skull

0:23:350:23:39

and there's some bleeding going on there.

0:23:390:23:42

So I was concerned for her. Very, very concerned.

0:23:420:23:45

If I was to be truthful and a betting man,

0:23:460:23:48

I wasn't 100% that she was going to survive.

0:23:480:23:52

Dave clips on and within seconds, he and Linda are airborne,

0:23:540:23:58

dangling over the waters of the Solent,

0:23:580:24:01

as the heli crew haul them in.

0:24:010:24:03

It was a matter of seconds really.

0:24:030:24:05

Once Dave had clipped on, away they went.

0:24:050:24:08

I felt sad that I was now no longer by her side.

0:24:110:24:15

It was then a case of just

0:24:170:24:19

hoping and praying that everything would be all right.

0:24:190:24:22

The helicopter rushes Linda to a waiting trauma team

0:24:240:24:27

in nearby Portsmouth, leaving Julian feeling bereft.

0:24:270:24:31

Everything was quiet.

0:24:320:24:34

Clearly, the...

0:24:340:24:37

noise of the helicopter was quite deafening.

0:24:370:24:39

An eerie silence came.

0:24:390:24:42

Lifeboat medic Chris takes charge.

0:24:440:24:47

You want to kind of keep your spirits up.

0:24:470:24:50

We all hope for the best, but we do know obviously the outcome

0:24:500:24:52

sometimes can be quite bad and tragic.

0:24:520:24:54

Julian collects their things and the lifeboat crew take him ashore

0:24:540:24:58

and on to Portsmouth's Queen Alexandra Hospital.

0:24:580:25:01

Within an hour, he's back at Linda's side.

0:25:010:25:04

Chris volunteers to stay with him.

0:25:040:25:06

I explained to the doctors obviously who I was,

0:25:060:25:09

so obviously family members need to be with Julian at the time,

0:25:090:25:12

but I was waiting there till someone could come and relieve me from his family.

0:25:120:25:15

I stayed with him for about an hour and just provided reassurance

0:25:150:25:19

and someone to chat to through this difficult time.

0:25:190:25:21

Because of the seriousness of her injuries,

0:25:210:25:25

Linda is moved to Southampton Hospital, a major trauma centre,

0:25:250:25:29

where doctors tell Julian they need to operate straightaway

0:25:290:25:33

to remove blood clots.

0:25:330:25:35

The operation goes well and four hours later,

0:25:350:25:39

Julian is able to be at his wife's side again.

0:25:390:25:42

After awhile, I was allowed to go and see Linda and she was able

0:25:430:25:47

to squeeze my hand when I called her name,

0:25:470:25:51

and that was brilliant.

0:25:510:25:54

I felt... I felt a lot better.

0:25:540:25:56

But it's three days before Linda fully regains consciousness,

0:25:580:26:01

although she has little memory of what's happened.

0:26:010:26:05

Julian and their daughters are at her bedside.

0:26:050:26:07

I was so pleased.

0:26:080:26:10

I was pleased to see everybody and I don't really think at that time

0:26:100:26:14

I understood how serious the injury was.

0:26:140:26:18

In one of my follow-up appointments,

0:26:200:26:22

the head injury specialist nurse spoke to us for quite a while

0:26:220:26:26

and I did say to her, "So in the scale of seriousness of injuries,

0:26:260:26:29

"this was quite a minor injury, was it?" And she said, "Absolutely not.

0:26:290:26:34

"This was a spectacularly bad injury."

0:26:340:26:36

We were told that people that get that sort of injury can die

0:26:360:26:40

if not seen really quickly.

0:26:400:26:43

The speed of recovery, I'm convinced, is associated

0:26:430:26:47

with the speed at which she was seen by the hospital staff.

0:26:470:26:51

Linda makes a remarkable recovery,

0:26:520:26:55

leaving hospital after just ten days.

0:26:550:26:58

But she's been left with some problems,

0:26:580:27:00

including hearing difficulties and the loss of smell and taste.

0:27:000:27:04

I can still hear,

0:27:050:27:07

out of my left ear,

0:27:070:27:09

but that might deteriorate as I get older.

0:27:090:27:12

My sense of smell and taste may or may not come back.

0:27:130:27:17

Those are a small price to pay for...

0:27:170:27:19

..the fact that I'm still alive.

0:27:210:27:23

I think Linda was incredibly lucky on that day.

0:27:240:27:27

She had some fantastic support from an independent lifeboat station like ourselves.

0:27:270:27:31

The fact that the helicopter was flying up and ready

0:27:310:27:34

and could get there as quickly as possible,

0:27:340:27:36

and that she had some brilliant people on the crew here

0:27:360:27:38

who had the life-saving training that she needed.

0:27:380:27:41

Seconds really did count that day.

0:27:410:27:42

That's where it happened.

0:27:510:27:53

Right there and thank goodness there was a happy ending.

0:27:540:27:56

See you next time on Close Calls.

0:27:560:27:59

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