Episode 6 Helicopter Heroes


Episode 6

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If you're seriously ill or critically injured,

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every second counts, especially if you are up high or off the beaten track.

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But thanks to these guys, the people of the UK's biggest county

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are never more than 10 minutes away from a hospital.

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The Yorkshire Air Ambulance can do 150 miles an hour,

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and every day brings a new life-or-death emergency.

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Five million people depend on these yellow helicopters to bring life-saving care from the skies.

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When a multiple pile-up closes Britain's highest motorway

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or there's a serious accident on the shop floor, the highly trained paramedics

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and pilots of the Helimed team are there to rescue the casualties.

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Today on Helicopter Heroes -

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There is a serious farm accident and a nine-year-old boy is fighting for his life...

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He's climbed over it, swung on it and pulled it down like that.

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A Yorkshire horse whisperer is trampled by a bucking Bronco...

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His leg was up in the air and his head was on the floor.

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Helimed 99 lands on the lawn after a visitor runs over her friend...

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Who is holding my hand?

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And the team rescue a cyclist who came off at 60 miles an hour.

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A farm sounds like a great place to spend your childhood.

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For tens of thousands of kids, home is one giant playground with acres of space and loads of animals.

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But a modern farm is also a dangerous place.

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High up in the Yorkshire Dales, farming is a family business, especially in the lambing season.

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But on a farm near Settle, there has been a serious accident.

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Ambulance emergency, how old is the patient? Is it nine?

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OK, so they've obviously given us 301.

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He's been outside playing, a baling spike has fallen on his head, he's got cuts to his head.

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He's got head injury.

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The spike from this baling machine has hit four-year-old James Bradley on the head.

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He is badly injured.

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'A baling spike has fallen on his head, apparently. It doesn't sound good, does it, that?'

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-No, it doesn't. Is it a kiddie as well?

-'Oh, don't say that. Is it?'

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Local ground paramedics called in the Helimed team

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after finding little James showing symptoms of a brain injury.

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Obviously we are not familiar with what this machinery might entail,

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but normally with farm machinery there's quite some weight involved.

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The Bradley family's farm is a long way from specialist hospital care,

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at least an hour in any direction by road.

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There are hospitals dotted about, but obviously the one with the specialist sort of centres

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that will deal with major trauma are further afield,

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so that's when the air ambulance really comes

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into its own.

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Pilot Chris Atchell knows that in areas like this,

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his helicopter sometimes represents the only chance of survival for a critically injured patient.

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This is one of those days.

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-Nine year-old James...

-Yeah.

-Been playing in the barn.

-Yeah.

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It's quite a tall machine and it's actually come forward,

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-toppled forward on to him.

-Yeah.

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I think he's climbed over it, swung on it and pulled it down like that.

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Ah, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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Ey up, mate. How are we doing?

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No loss of consciousness, no cervical pain, no back pain.

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He remembers everything that's gone on. His pupil is equal and reacting.

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The team know that James's brain is bruised and bleeding.

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Inside his skull, pressure is building.

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Unless it's released quickly, he will die.

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Hello, James. I'm a James as well.

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How are we doing?

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-How do you feel?

-Fine.

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-Does anything else hurt apart from your head?

-No.

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No. Do you remember what happened?

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You all right there, James?

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James, do you remember what happened?

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The bale spike fell on me.

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Did it? Oh, dear.

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There's no shortage of distractions at lambing time,

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and James was playing in the barn while his parehts tended the sheep.

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It was a freak accident.

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They were all down there doing the...

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I'm going to look where it was, I don't know.

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But they were all doing the sheep and lamb jobs, the children were with Mum and Dad.

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-James?

-Yes?

-It's really important I put a wee thing into your arm now.

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-It scratches a little bit to start with, but then it goes away straight away, OK?

-Yeah.

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Sharp scratch.

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All done, I promise. All done.

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Good lad. Hey, I've never met someone so brave.

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-They make them hard up here, don't they?

-Yeah.

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James is going to be sedated for the trip to hospital.

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His mum will go with him.

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James, we're going to lift you up on this board now.

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You just pop your arms there for me and keep them really still.

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James is still conscious, that's a good sign, but children with a brain injury can deteriorate quickly.

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His mum doesn't know it, but the team is extremely worried about his chances of survival.

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Right, James, see you soon.

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Coming up - James's mum joins him on the flight that could save her son's life.

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Doors secure, ready for take-off.

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A patient with a head injury presents Dr Jez with a challenge...

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I've had to give her a little bit of ketamine just to sedate her.

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And as rescues go, this is a damn sight more dramatic than most.

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Some people manage an entire career without ever being hurt,

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but when your job involves breaking in untamed horses for a living,

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perhaps you can expect that some day something may go wrong.

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Riding horses is a dangerous sport.

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Everyone who has climbed into a saddle knows that.

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But at these stables in North Yorkshire they specialise in the riskiest form of riding.

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Horse breaking is an ancient art, and Craig Chadwick is an expert.

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Every day he takes two-year-old horses,

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and with his riding partner Karen Nixon tries to tame them enough to get a saddle on their backs.

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Even thoroughbreds are born wild. This is a dangerous job.

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Like the horse whisperers of America, Craig and Karen use

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a combination of touch, persuasion and a little telepathy to prepare a half-tonne animal to be ridden.

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One wrong move can turn a gentle animal

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into a bucking bronco, and when that happens, someone usually gets hurt.

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Ambulance and emergency?

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The horse has just absolutely exploded.

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-He's got his leg caught in one of the reins.

-Right.

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It started bucking and freaking out.

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-Right.

-And he's got his leg stuck.

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Is he completely alert?

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No. Well, no, not really, he's a bad colour.

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-I'm going to go and get a blanket and something to put on his head.

-Yeah.

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Immediately the call is passed to the team on Helimed 98.

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Helimed 98, that's the traffic away now across runway 32.

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It's paramedic Darren Axe's job to navigate to the scene.

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There are many farms in the same area and it won't be easy to find, even on a map.

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While we're in flight we use

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large aviation maps to get to the general area,

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and then we drop onto

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the Ordnance Survey ones.

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I've got you a better map.

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-You can see the racecourse on your right at Catterick Bridge?

-Yeah.

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-No probs, mate.

-I'll just chuck this through.

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Fellow trainers saw the accident but could only watch

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as Craig was dragged under the horse he was breaking in.

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Fence blowing away behind us, mate, I don't know where it's gone.

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You're clear at the back, Chris.

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This could be a dangerous landing, but the ground crew have made sure any loose horses have been put away.

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Now Kate is about to take over.

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Hiya, hon.

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This is Craig, he's 22.

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The horse dragged him by the stirrups for about 40 seconds.

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No loss of consciousness, there's no neck pain.

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So where's the pain, what is he...

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Central sternum and both sides of his chest, particularly his left.

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-OK.

-But suddenly Craig's heart rate drops.

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It could mean that he's bleeding internally.

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All right, Craig?

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Craig?

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Talk to me, darling.

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Craig's going into shock.

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His skin is grey and clammy and his body starts shaking.

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His friends managed to pull him free from the horse but his chest and legs have been crushed and kicked.

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Craig's riding partner Karen has stayed by his side the whole time.

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She dialled 999 from her mobile phone.

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The horse started bucking and throwing a wobbler and he had his leg stuck in the stirrup

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and wrapped with the lines, the lunge lines.

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had to let go of the lines, but all the lines were wrapped round his leg.

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Luckily the horse stopped and we got him off,

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but his leg was up in the air and his head was on the floor,

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and it was...rodeo-ing

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Before the team move Craig, paramedic Kate needs to be sure they haven't missed any injuries.

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The pain in their patient's chest could be masking other symptoms.

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He said he's got tingling in his knees and he's got pain.

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Can you feel that, mate? Can you feel that? Yeah, right. Fair enough.

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They won't say it, but the paramedics know that the tingling in Craig's leg

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could be could be a warning sign his spine had been damaged as he was dragged along the ground.

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Coming up - a hospital crash team is on standby to examine Craig.

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-ETA?

-Four minutes.

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Pilot Chris is at full throttle as the patient is showing signs of brain damage.

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The mountain biking accident that left its mark on a daredevil rider.

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-How are you doing?

-A lot of pain.

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A lot of pain. Whereabouts, mate?

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Imagine hurting a friend.

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Can friendship survive serious injury caused by someone close to you?

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One day in West Yorkshire, two ladies found out the hard way.

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Leeds is the UK's second biggest financial city,

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which means house prices in some of the wealthiest suburbs rival those in the south-east

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with bank bonuses inflating the value of homes.

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Today Helimed 98 has been scrambled to Yorkshire's stockbroker belt.

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MESSAGE ON RADIO

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There has been a road accident in the well-heeled village of Bramhope.

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-Have you got visual?

-I've got the response car.

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And for pilot Tim Taylor there is no shortage of large lawns to turn into a helipad.

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Barbara Marriott was leaving her home in a quiet cul-de-sac

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when she was knocked down by a car being reversed by another elderly lady.

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She is suffering from cerebral irritation,

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a classic symptom of a head injury.

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Just to give you heads up, this lady is going to go to LGI with a head injury.

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She's cereberally irritated.

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Who is holding me hand?

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Me.

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it turns out that the woman driving the car is a friend of Barbara's

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who lives in the same cul-de-sac.

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Not only has Jean Saville suffered a nasty bash on the head,

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she's also devastated that one of her closest friends is badly injured.

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We're still trying to establish exactly what has gone on

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so we can piece together the events of this morning

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and get answers for the families of those involved.

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She was behind the car, has fallen backwards and hit the back of her head.

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She was apparently not breathing for few minutes

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and had mouth to mouth...

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And then, obviously, she was breathing when we arrived

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and was extremely agitated.

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With clearly quite a bad head injury.

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-SHE MOANS

-I can do on his finger here, OK, sweetheart.

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Agitated patients can be difficult to treat for any paramedic

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but they are impossible in the cramped cabin of a helicopter.

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Flying Doctor Jez Pinnell is an anaesthetist

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and he's going to put Barbara to sleep for the short flight to hospital.

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Head injuries are very hard to diagnose, only a scan will show

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how serious Barbara's injury really is, but her symptoms aren't good.

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I've had to give her a little bit of Ketamine just to sedate her really so we can manage her.

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She is obviously now sedated but we need to take over her breathing, control her airway.

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Medicine relies on his own ABC to safeguard patients.

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Airway, breathing and circulation.

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A tube carefully steered down Barbara's windpipe will look after the first

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while the crew will have to take over responsibility for the second.

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Barbara's friend needs a check-up herself but there is no doubting which patient is the most serious.

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She's nice and steady now. She is anaesthetised, we have controlled her airway,

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we're breathing for her so A and B is fine.

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She's nice and stable from a blood pressure point of view so she is much safer to transfer like this.

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We'll take her to LGI to get a CT scan and see where we go from there.

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Helimed 98 weighs three tonnes and its skids will leave deep marks in this lawn

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but the charity that runs the service receives few complaints.

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Even the keenest gardeners seem to think it is a price worth paying for the air ambulance service.

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In less than five minutes, doctors will be subjecting Barbara to a series of tests and scans

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to determine whether the accident has caused permanent damage to her brain

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or whether like many victims of cerebral irritation, she will recover completely in time.

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For several days, Barbara was kept in an artificial coma

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to allow her brain to recover, but within weeks she was up and on her way home.

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And today the two friends are reunited but Jean is arriving on foot.

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It is the first time the ladies have got together to piece together what happened on the day of the accident.

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I took a real chunk out of it, then.

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It's even got a bit of your reversing light.

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The tree in Barbara's garden also bears the scars of the accident.

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-Quite a day it was.

-It certainly was.

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I don't want another day like that.

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-It didn't spoil our friendship, that is what matters.

-You're quite right.

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With the memory of the trauma behind them,

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the two ladies are getting back into the swing of things, making a batch of Barbara's legendary lemon curd.

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One thing I do remember was...

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-coming round and everybody was fussing round me and I can't stand people crowding me.

-No.

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And I looked up to see where Jean was and she was sat

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in her car and the car was right up against the tree and she was just...

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There was a lovely big egg on my head.

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And you could see it, watch it coming up.

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It was about half the size of that lemon.

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Both women suffered head injuries in the accident, which has led to some confusion...

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They think my foot slipped off and once it's in gear, it goes.

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And they think my foot slipped,

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and didn't hit the brake, you see.

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-That's the only thing they can think of.

-I thought it had slipped off the brake and hit the accelerator.

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-Well, it might have down, yes.

-It is just one of those things.

-Yes.

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Barbara sells her home-made jams and pickles and to raise money

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for local charities, including the Yorkshire air ambulance.

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She is grateful for all that the medics did for her that day and is determined to repay them

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and thank one of the men who came to her rescue.

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Paramedic Paul Bradbury.

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How are you?

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-A lot better than last time you saw me.

-You're looking a lot better as well.

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-Can you feel it?

-Oh yes...

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Words haven't been invented.

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Thank you is such an inadequate word. But...

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it is thank you, thank you, thank you and thank you again.

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It is a wonderful chance to say thank you to these people

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because if they weren't here, I might not be here.

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It's as stark as that.

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Coming up - the horse breaker has been lucky to survive.

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But how serious are his injuries?

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The horse stopped or it could have been fatal.

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And the team is called to the Peak District to rescue an injured cyclist.

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Let's catch upon the case of James - the nine year-old farm boy

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seriously injured in a freak accident in a barn.

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Hey up, Jamesie, how are we doing?

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Fed up?

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James Bradley is fighting for his life

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after this piece of farm machinery left him with a serious head injury.

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-How long do you reckon he were out?

-He wasn't out at all. Oh, no.

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Did he cry straight away?

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The team have been piecing together the story of the accident with the help of his dad and mum.

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This information could help surgeons save their son's life.

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Doors Secure, ready for take-off.

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-OK, then, doors, please.

-Mine good.

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Now James is on his way from the family farm in the Yorkshire Dales

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to the neurological unit of Leeds General Infirmary.

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How old is James? He is nine? What is his date of birth?

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Paramedic James Vine knows his patient is critically ill.

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Pressure is building inside his skull, and unless it is released quickly, he will die.

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James's mum Laura doesn't know how serious his condition is.

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Medical history - no asthma, no diabetes, no epilepsy?

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Slowly, James's condition is getting worse.

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Pressure is pushing the back of his brain down into the top of his spinal column.

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Doctors call it coning and it is deadly.

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He is not allergic to anything you are aware of? He is not on any regular medications?

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He is a term baby, born on time?

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Up-to-date with all his immunisations?

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And he was a normal delivery? No problems?

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A surgical team is on standby but even at 150 miles an hour

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Helimed 98 will take 14 minutes to reach the LGI's rooftop helipad.

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INDISTINCT TALKING

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..En route for the LGI.

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Pilot Chris Atchell is using all the power available from the chopper's two jet engines.

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Got an ETA?

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Cheers, mate, no worries.

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Dozens of people on the ground are busy helping in the race to get James to hospital.

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Air-traffic control have cleared Chris straight through the busy skies around Leeds-Bradford airport.

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No conflict with us heading out.

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Away from us. Good distance from us.

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Hospital firefighters are waiting to rush him down to surgery.

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If there is swelling and bleeding within the brain then they can sometimes manifest later on

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and initially the patient will look quite stable but then deteriorate quite quickly,

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hence the decision was made to bring him to LGI where he will get the full scans and checkovers

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by the specialists before, you know, anything can hopefully progress.

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Big deep breath. Good lad.

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And out.

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And again.

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-Good lad. Pain in your tummy, James?

-No...

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Is it just your head?

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Paramedic James continues to ask the same questions.

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He is not really interested in the answer.

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His patient's condition is deteriorating and he needs to assess his level of consciousness.

0:20:410:20:47

OK chaps, this is James, nine-year-old male,

0:20:470:20:51

baling spike holder, approximately about 6 hundredweight's been on the floor

0:20:510:20:55

and he has climbed on it and it has fallen on top of him.

0:20:550:20:58

The Helimed team has done its job, now it is up to the LGI's

0:20:580:21:02

neurosurgeons to take over the fight to save James.

0:21:020:21:06

It'll be a long night for them and his mum.

0:21:060:21:09

Coming up - James is X-rayed and it is not good news.

0:21:150:21:19

If your brain stem gets squashed, you stop breathing...

0:21:190:21:22

-And the case of the downhill racer who outpaced some cars.

-60 mile an hour.

0:21:220:21:27

Remember the man who was badly injured trying to break in an untamed horse in North Yorkshire?

0:21:320:21:37

Let's find out how his treatment is going.

0:21:370:21:39

Craig Chadwick was working with fellow trainer Karen Nixon

0:21:390:21:43

when a horse bucked and he became tangled in the stirrups.

0:21:430:21:48

Paramedics are concerned about Craig's spine and his blood pressure, which is worryingly low.

0:21:480:21:54

Right then.

0:21:560:21:57

It's not tropical, is it? Bless him.

0:21:570:21:59

No.

0:21:590:22:00

Chris, do you want to roll out that sleeping bag on to the stretcher for us?

0:22:000:22:05

It's a tense time for everyone.

0:22:070:22:09

Craig has been riding since he was five

0:22:090:22:11

but this accident could mean he'll never be able to get on a horse again.

0:22:110:22:15

Right. Oh! OK, if we can just go up.

0:22:150:22:18

-Bring him in from the side and just spin him sideways as you get him in.

-That's it.

0:22:180:22:23

Just keep hold of that bag there.

0:22:230:22:25

Training wild horses is dangerous.

0:22:250:22:27

But none of Craig's friends were prepared for it to go so wrong.

0:22:270:22:31

The paramedics won't be able to communicate properly with Craig during the flight

0:22:310:22:35

so they need to attach him to the helicopter's monitoring equipment.

0:22:350:22:39

-Right, so your pain's all in your chest, Craig, is it?

-Mm.

0:22:390:22:41

-Keep your arm straight for me.

-Is it tender, can I have a feel? Tender when you press?

0:22:410:22:46

Yeah, tender there? OK.

0:22:460:22:48

The horse that trampled on Craig weighs around half a tonne.

0:22:480:22:52

Kate's worried that it could have punctured his lungs.

0:22:520:22:55

Detecting it now could stop them having to perform an emergency operation 2,000 feet up.

0:22:550:23:01

OK sweetheart, just take a breath for me.

0:23:010:23:03

It seems Craig has been lucky, he's stable enough to begin his flight to hospital.

0:23:050:23:11

Radar, Helimed 98 Alpha.

0:23:110:23:12

Helimed 98 Alpha

0:23:120:23:14

INDISTINCT

0:23:140:23:17

'Brompton-on-Swale and routing through James Cook.

0:23:170:23:20

'Requesting a basic service and clearance for the zone, please.'

0:23:200:23:24

Pilot Chris doesn't want to spook the nearby horses.

0:23:240:23:26

There's a danger it could cause another accident so it's a quick take-off.

0:23:260:23:31

-Six to run, Kate.

-Thank you.

0:23:310:23:34

At the James Cook Hospital, the trauma team is already gathering.

0:23:340:23:38

Orthopaedic surgeons and Accident & Emergency consultants are being briefed on their airborne patient.

0:23:380:23:45

Radar, Helimed 98 Alpha, letting down James Cook.

0:23:450:23:48

Over the next few hours, Craig has many X-rays and scans

0:23:510:23:54

but doctors can't find any internal injuries or broken bones.

0:23:540:23:58

To everyone's amazement, he's discharged the next day.

0:23:580:24:02

-Hello.

-Hello.

-So you can walk?

-Yeah.

0:24:030:24:06

I didn't think you'd be back today.

0:24:060:24:08

After just three days off, Craig is back at work.

0:24:080:24:11

It seems that Craig's lucky escape hasn't deterred him from riding again.

0:24:110:24:15

He's anxious to get back in the saddle and continue breaking in horses.

0:24:150:24:19

When I got on, I thought everything was OK and as she went to let me out on the lunge,

0:24:190:24:24

the horse spun the opposite way and so the lunge line got wrapped around the whole horse

0:24:240:24:28

which then attached me to the horse

0:24:280:24:30

so as I came out the side,

0:24:300:24:33

I was still attached so I was dangling a foot off the floor

0:24:330:24:36

and I was caught between the horse's front legs.

0:24:360:24:41

So as it took off down the school, I was still attached to it!

0:24:410:24:46

With no-one else holding on to it.

0:24:460:24:48

Karen knows how close Craig came to death that day.

0:24:480:24:52

The memories of the accident are still very clear.

0:24:520:24:55

I thought he was going to be killed. I did think.

0:24:550:24:58

He was so lucky, I don't know how he didn't break anything.

0:24:580:25:01

He was just getting tossed about like a rag doll.

0:25:010:25:04

And thank God, the horse stopped.

0:25:040:25:07

Because if it had carried on I think it would've been...it could have been fatal.

0:25:070:25:12

Coming up - Doctors operate on the farmer's son injured in a freak accident.

0:25:160:25:20

If your brain stem gets squashed, you stop breathing.

0:25:200:25:23

It's quick, it's clean and it's good for you.

0:25:280:25:31

But cycling can be dangerous if you come off.

0:25:310:25:34

Even wearing the right equipment isn't always going to save you.

0:25:340:25:38

Up in the Pennines, cyclists often have an uphill struggle getting from A to B.

0:25:380:25:43

But sometimes riding downhill has its hazards too.

0:25:430:25:47

-Are you ready?

-Yep.

-OK, clear left.

0:25:480:25:51

Today the Helimed team's keenest cyclist, James Vine,

0:25:510:25:54

and colleague Tony Wilkes are on their way to a fellow rider.

0:25:540:25:58

We've been requested to attend a cyclist

0:25:580:26:02

who's come off his cycle

0:26:020:26:04

going downhill at a really fast speed, apparently.

0:26:040:26:07

He's clearly fractured his wrist, it's also suspected he could have a back or neck injury as well.

0:26:070:26:12

-Looks fairly murky out there, doesn't it?

-Yes.

0:26:120:26:15

Helimed 99's heading up to some of the highest roads

0:26:150:26:17

in England on the hills between West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.

0:26:170:26:21

We're getting to that time of year now where it's nice weather for people to get out and about

0:26:210:26:26

and obviously if they come off at high speeds down some of these hills, you can get some nasty injuries.

0:26:260:26:31

Five to run, please.

0:26:310:26:33

This is rough country and even spotting something as big as an ambulance up here isn't easy.

0:26:330:26:38

-'Unless you're pilot Steve Cobb.'

-That's not an ambulance, is it? Halfway up the hill?

-Get a visual.

0:26:380:26:44

-God, you're eagle-eye or something. Eagle-eye Cobb.

-Hawk-eye.

0:26:450:26:48

Hawk-eye Cobb!

0:26:480:26:50

This area attracts hardcore cyclists training for races.

0:26:510:26:55

What makes this accident unusual is the cycle and cyclist.

0:26:550:26:59

This is a serious racing bike, worth several thousand pounds.

0:27:000:27:04

James Byron is just 16 but he's a keen road racer.

0:27:050:27:09

He was out training with his dad when he had a tyre blow-out.

0:27:090:27:12

He's been lucky to survive, given the speed at which he came off.

0:27:120:27:16

James has been coming down the hill, approximately 60 mph, his dad says, who's been following in the car.

0:27:160:27:22

-Right.

-Hit a grate, wobbled off.

0:27:220:27:25

-I saw him land and then he got up and picked the bike up.

-How did he land? Did he...

0:27:250:27:29

I don't know, it happened too quick.

0:27:290:27:31

I took James out on a training ride,

0:27:310:27:34

this is part of our regular training route for him as a racing cyclist.

0:27:340:27:38

We rode to the top of Holme Moss

0:27:380:27:41

and we were riding back down.

0:27:410:27:43

And we got to this one-mile marker, James come off the bike,

0:27:440:27:47

lost control when he hit a drain in the road.

0:27:470:27:50

James has hurt his arm but the ground crew are playing it safe.

0:27:500:27:53

He could easily have broken his neck, so they're treating him as though he has a spinal injury

0:27:530:27:58

and there's a good reason for that.

0:27:580:28:00

We've clocked him getting to this one-mile marker in 60 seconds so he was doing 60 mph.

0:28:010:28:07

This is just a bit of morphine, all right? So it should help.

0:28:070:28:10

No-one could believe it was a cycle he came off at 60.

0:28:100:28:14

Tony or James, can you confirm, was at a push bike, a bicycle he came off, over?

0:28:140:28:19

Yeah, roger, a push bike.

0:28:200:28:22

James's dad is worried his son is badly hurt.

0:28:220:28:25

But flying doctor Simon doesn't want to see another accident today.

0:28:250:28:29

So is this your van?

0:28:290:28:32

-Yes.

-Because there's no need to rush,

0:28:320:28:35

-I know you want to be there quickly but there's no need to rush it here at breakneck speed, OK?

-Yes.

0:28:350:28:40

Paramedic James knows how lucky his teenage patient has been.

0:28:400:28:44

When he's not flying, he rides a paramedic cycle in Leeds and is no stranger to speed himself.

0:28:440:28:51

Sounds like he's come off at quite a significant speed.

0:28:510:28:54

We're on a decent-sized hill as you can see when you look around.

0:28:540:28:57

Apparently he's been doing up to 60 mph on a push bike.

0:28:570:29:01

Cyclist James can cover more than 100 miles in a training run,

0:29:010:29:05

at speeds close to the limit for cars,

0:29:050:29:08

but he's about to travel to hospital even faster.

0:29:080:29:11

James is being taken to the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary to be checked out by doctors.

0:29:130:29:17

It will take X-rays to rule out a spinal injury.

0:29:170:29:20

He's been lucky that he's not hit any dry-stone walls or anything, he's just landed on some grass.

0:29:230:29:28

So as far as we make out, he's got a probable fractured wrist

0:29:280:29:32

so he's quite settled now, so it's just a case of a quick five-minute flight down to Huddersfield Hospital.

0:29:320:29:38

But the injury to his arm alone required three-and-a-half hours of surgery.

0:29:380:29:43

Off-road biking is a great way to get out and see the countryside but if you're off the beaten track,

0:29:440:29:49

there are no warning signs for steep hills or other hazards.

0:29:490:29:53

The North York Moors are a mountain biker's paradise but it doesn't feel like paradise when you come off.

0:29:530:30:00

Today, Helimed 98 is on its way to the Dalby Forest where a cyclist's come a cropper.

0:30:000:30:06

Helimed 98 to Yorkshire Air Desk, our ETA 1203, over.

0:30:070:30:12

We're heading to Dalby Forest,

0:30:140:30:16

a wonderful place where mountain bikers go at the weekend.

0:30:160:30:20

Unfortunately, a chap's come off his bike,

0:30:200:30:23

he's got a rather serious chest injury.

0:30:230:30:26

Andrew Bell and three of his friends were riding a trail designed for experienced mountain bikers.

0:30:260:30:32

-There's someone in a reflective jacket waving down there. Got it?

-OK, yeah. Got him.

0:30:330:30:37

He came off his bike halfway round after attempting a six foot jump.

0:30:380:30:42

Hello, sir. What's your first name?

0:30:430:30:46

-Andrew.

-Hello, Andrew.

0:30:460:30:48

I'm Sammy, I'm one of the paramedics.

0:30:480:30:50

-How are you doing?

-Lot of pain.

0:30:500:30:52

A lot of pain, whereabouts, mate?

0:30:520:30:54

-My shoulder.

-Your shoulder, which one, left or right?

0:30:540:30:57

-Right.

-Your right shoulder, OK.

0:30:570:30:59

Andrew took up the sport again a couple of months ago after a break.

0:30:590:31:04

He may have been a bit over-ambitious.

0:31:040:31:07

He fell from a six foot drop, sort of thing.

0:31:080:31:11

He jumped and fell.

0:31:110:31:13

He didn't get back up.

0:31:130:31:15

Take a deep breath for me, sir. As best you can.

0:31:150:31:18

-Is your tummy OK?

-Mm.

-Yep?

0:31:200:31:22

You got any pain in your ribs at all?

0:31:220:31:24

-Yeah.

-Which side?

-Just everywhere.

0:31:240:31:26

He's complaining of a lot of pain his ribs, he just isn't breathing.

0:31:260:31:30

-Has he got IV access?

-No, we've tried.

-Are you guys happy to help carry?

0:31:300:31:34

-Course we are, yeah.

-Brilliant.

0:31:340:31:36

Andrew's mates know he's in good hands and that he'll soon be

0:31:360:31:40

on his way to get the best possible care in hospital.

0:31:400:31:44

-Do you know where you are?

-Mm-hm.

-Where are you?

0:31:440:31:47

-Dalby Forest.

-Good lad.

0:31:470:31:48

Paramedic Sammy Wills keeps asking Andrew simple questions

0:31:480:31:52

to check that he hasn't got concussion or a more serious head injury.

0:31:520:31:56

He's got a lot of pain in his shoulder

0:31:560:31:59

and it's spreading through to the right side of his ribs.

0:31:590:32:03

We've given him some morphine which is usually really effective

0:32:030:32:08

and hopefully his breathing will be a lot easier.

0:32:080:32:11

He'll just feel a lot more comfortable on the way in.

0:32:110:32:14

Andrew's wife and parents are on their way to the James Cook Hospital.

0:32:140:32:18

They'll soon find out that his injuries are more serious than everyone first thought.

0:32:180:32:23

Andrew has a broken vertebra in his back as well as his collarbone and his shoulder.

0:32:240:32:30

He'll have to have an operation and will spend nine days in hospital.

0:32:300:32:33

Two-and-a-half weeks later, and Andrew is back at home with a couple of very impressive scars.

0:32:340:32:40

The main scar down the back is where they've pieced together where I broke my 12th vertebra.

0:32:400:32:46

The bottom scar is from a bone graft.

0:32:460:32:48

If I lie on my lie on my back it's sore, and I can't lie on my side because of my collarbone.

0:32:480:32:53

I've broken my 12th vertebra,

0:32:530:32:54

I've broken my shoulder, I've broke my collarbone,

0:32:540:32:58

I broke three ribs, and I punctured my right lung

0:32:580:33:02

so the pain, when it first happened,

0:33:020:33:05

the biggest problem was breathing.

0:33:050:33:07

To try and get my breath was very hard because I was also out of breath as well off riding the bike.

0:33:070:33:13

-Ever hurt your shoulders before, mate?

-No.

0:33:130:33:16

I was shaking cos I was that cold from being on the ground for two hours.

0:33:160:33:20

I kept saying to us, you'll be all right, Andrew, you're going to the right place.

0:33:200:33:24

That was about it, really.

0:33:240:33:25

I can't remember the noise of it, how bumpy it was, landing, there's loads of bits I can't remember!

0:33:250:33:32

It'll take around 12 weeks for Andrew's injuries to heal.

0:33:320:33:36

But this hasn't put him off mountain biking.

0:33:360:33:39

I'll still do mountain biking, if my injuries fully heal and there's no pains there, to be honest.

0:33:390:33:45

But I think I'll be investing in a bit of body armour.

0:33:450:33:48

It's your head that's most vulnerable in a bike accident and every year, dozens of cyclists die

0:33:490:33:54

or are left permanently disabled as a result of injuries that could have been prevented by one of these.

0:33:540:34:00

An emergency call from the Derbyshire Peak District and the Helimed 98 crew are on their way.

0:34:010:34:07

Yes, a request from a neighbouring service.

0:34:070:34:09

We've got reports of a 19-year-old male who's come off his push bike

0:34:090:34:13

near a reservoir and he's got head injuries and he's semi-conscious.

0:34:130:34:17

Putting a helicopter down in the Peaks is a tricky business.

0:34:170:34:21

So paramedic Al Day immediately starts mapping out potential landing sites.

0:34:210:34:26

We can't land close by.

0:34:280:34:30

What might seem like a short walk, 400 metres, 500 metres when you're

0:34:300:34:34

trying to carry a person,

0:34:340:34:37

that's quite difficult, especially if the ground isn't flat.

0:34:370:34:41

If you're having to carry somebody down a steep slope or something.

0:34:410:34:45

That can be dangerous unless you've got the right equipment and you know what you're doing.

0:34:450:34:50

INDISTINCT

0:34:500:34:52

-Is that the ambulance?

-Yeah.

0:34:520:34:54

It's impossible for Helimed 98 to land near the casualty.

0:34:540:34:59

So the land ambulance will pick him up and drive him to a suitable site at the end of the reservoir.

0:34:590:35:04

If they can get in contact with whoever's on scene, if they can tell them if they see us

0:35:040:35:10

and talk us into where they are, that might be a way if we can.

0:35:100:35:14

It takes all pilot Steve Cobb's skill to put the aircraft down safely right next to the dam.

0:35:180:35:24

That looks good my side.

0:35:240:35:27

I'd say if anything, you want to be more to my side.

0:35:290:35:32

The rangers from the nearby Visitor Centre raised the alarm.

0:35:350:35:39

He's fairly stable, they think.

0:35:390:35:41

-They're going to transport him back here now.

-OK.

0:35:410:35:44

And they'll be here fairly shortly.

0:35:440:35:47

The patient's been located

0:35:470:35:49

by a land ambulance at the next dam along, about a mile away.

0:35:490:35:53

So they're just bringing the patient down to us.

0:35:530:35:56

Apparently he's got some kind of head injury.

0:35:560:35:58

The ground crew have had difficulty communicating with injured cyclist Ryan Horsley

0:35:580:36:03

because he lost his hearing aid when he came off his bike.

0:36:030:36:06

He's got a good laceration to the side of his head.

0:36:060:36:09

His left ear is quite torn at the top.

0:36:090:36:11

Clavicle fracture.

0:36:110:36:13

Clavicle fracture. His pal that was with him he's gone on down to the visiting centre

0:36:130:36:18

so we'll probably get more information.

0:36:180:36:20

-Do you want me to get him back?

-Yes, that'd be fantastic.

-I'll get someone to bring him back.

-Superb.

0:36:200:36:24

Hello, you OK?

0:36:240:36:27

Are you OK?

0:36:270:36:28

-No.

-No!

-He's been complaining of his hip hurting but I think that's just the abrasion.

0:36:280:36:34

I've had a good feel of the hip and everything's fine.

0:36:340:36:37

Just going to move your legs, OK?

0:36:370:36:39

Does that hurt?

0:36:410:36:42

INDISTINCT REPLY

0:36:420:36:44

OK.

0:36:440:36:45

With mobile phones out of action, Ryan's brother had to cycle to the Visitor Centre to get help.

0:36:490:36:55

I just saw the blood and somebody was looking after him.

0:36:550:36:59

Seemed to know what he was doing so they told me to go and get some help quick.

0:36:590:37:04

Meanwhile, some passing walkers took care of Ryan.

0:37:040:37:08

There's no mobile signals or anything, we had to send his friend on the bike to come and fetch help.

0:37:080:37:14

And of course when you're in that situation it seems like forever but it's only minutes, basically.

0:37:140:37:20

But seems like a long time when you're stuck there.

0:37:200:37:22

-Communication was difficult because he was deaf.

-Yes, he'd lost his hearing aid.

0:37:220:37:27

Apparently his friend's got that so we were having to write it on a bit of paper and present that to him.

0:37:270:37:34

Of course with the blow to the head, he was a bit confused anyway.

0:37:340:37:37

Instead of an uncomfortable 40-minute journey by road,

0:37:390:37:43

Ryan is being whisked to Sheffield's Northern General Hospital by helicopter.

0:37:430:37:47

There, his injured shoulder and head can be fully assessed.

0:37:470:37:52

And all our cyclists are recovering and planning to get back in the saddle.

0:37:530:37:58

Now, let's catch up with James's case, the farmer's son badly injured in North Yorkshire.

0:37:580:38:03

Nine-year-old James Bradley has been lucky to reach couple alive.

0:38:040:38:08

That lump is a sign of a serious head injury

0:38:080:38:10

that has caused a dangerous buildup of pressure inside his brain.

0:38:100:38:14

It's every parent's nightmare to be involved in an accident, let alone one that involves

0:38:140:38:19

taking a blow to the head with heavy machinery and then having to fly to hospital.

0:38:190:38:23

Thanks to the Helimed team, he's now in one of the UK's top neurological units.

0:38:230:38:28

But his survival is in real doubt as the pressure builds up inside his skull.

0:38:280:38:34

Surgeons at the Leeds General Infirmary decide

0:38:340:38:37

to temporarily remove a portion of his skull to relieve the swelling.

0:38:370:38:41

For two long days, it's touch and go.

0:38:430:38:46

But children can be incredibly resilient.

0:38:470:38:50

And less than a week after the accident, there's good news at the family farm.

0:38:500:38:55

James decided, in his infinite wisdom, that he was going to swing on it like a monkey

0:38:550:39:01

so he put his hands on the top here, coming from that direction,

0:39:010:39:04

tried to swing his legs through, and all he succeeded in doing was pulling it onto his head.

0:39:040:39:09

And it makes quite a satisfying... bang.

0:39:090:39:12

It was really scary

0:39:120:39:14

and it really hurt

0:39:140:39:17

and I was shocked and

0:39:170:39:19

blood coming down my face

0:39:190:39:21

and I was really annoyed.

0:39:210:39:23

Everything was just...

0:39:230:39:25

just a bit freaky.

0:39:250:39:27

His forehead was under there and the back of his head was on the concrete.

0:39:270:39:31

There's scarcely enough room to fit a little head under there.

0:39:310:39:34

James's mum and dad had no idea how badly he was hurt.

0:39:360:39:40

At the time, we just thought it really wasn't going to be anything too serious.

0:39:400:39:45

Then they decided to take him for a CT scan, then by the time he'd come out of the scan,

0:39:450:39:50

his nose had started to bleed.

0:39:500:39:52

Then they just took him straight into theatre.

0:39:520:39:55

They came and spoke to me

0:39:550:39:57

and just said he's got a blood clot.

0:39:570:40:00

So whereupon, I just thought... you just hear those words and I thought, oh, my God.

0:40:000:40:04

I thought he was going to die. I thought that's it, blood clot, he's going, you know.

0:40:040:40:09

I was driving down when Laura rang me and I was nearly there actually,

0:40:090:40:13

she said they've just taken him to theatre because they've found

0:40:130:40:16

a blood clot in his head. Well, I nearly missed my lane on the roundabout

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and at that point, it all got quite scary.

0:40:210:40:23

The neurologist who operated on James says his life was in the balance.

0:40:230:40:29

This is James's scan. This is the blood clot here, the white thing here.

0:40:290:40:34

So the brain is being squashed from the left to the right

0:40:340:40:37

by about a centimetre, which is quite a significant shift.

0:40:370:40:40

This part of the brain then gets squashed across and presses on the brain stem.

0:40:400:40:45

The brain stem controls your heart rate and your breathing.

0:40:450:40:48

And if your brain stem gets squashed, you stop breathing, your heart rate disappears and that's it.

0:40:480:40:55

If you can have the blood clot out, the pressure relieved within four hours of the injury,

0:40:560:41:01

you're much more likely to have a good outcome from the injury. Time is critical.

0:41:010:41:06

By being brought straight to us by the air ambulance, he was here in a matter of minutes.

0:41:060:41:12

Within a very short space of time of his injury, he'd had his surgery.

0:41:120:41:16

The air ambulance was absolutely critical in that.

0:41:160:41:19

Being a typical nine-year-old, James is keen to put the whole thing behind him.

0:41:210:41:25

Now he's just trying to get back to normal.

0:41:270:41:30

I'll say, "James, just be careful what you're doing. You can't do this, don't run.

0:41:300:41:35

"Watch out, don't bang your head." He just goes, "Mum, stop nagging."

0:41:350:41:40

I think one of them's also mooing, that bluey one because its calf's getting into the feed.

0:41:400:41:46

The thing is with James, he's one who won't be beat by anything.

0:41:460:41:49

He's a tough little thing!

0:41:490:41:51

Which is good.

0:41:510:41:53

He won't be beat.

0:41:530:41:56

When Helicopter Heroes comes back -

0:41:560:41:59

a young mum is thrown 20 feet after a road accident. But the chopper can't land.

0:41:590:42:03

Stop, stop, stop.

0:42:030:42:06

A veteran biker's badly hurt.

0:42:060:42:08

He's gone over and landed on this big slab here so...

0:42:080:42:12

The gritters are out but not on this road.

0:42:120:42:15

We're going to put you on to a spinal board.

0:42:150:42:17

I'm putgin you in the helicopter, is that OK?

0:42:170:42:20

And the call a young rugby player's mum didn't want to receive.

0:42:200:42:24

Oliver is going to be transported by an air ambulance, Mrs Moore.

0:42:240:42:28

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:42:330:42:36

E-mail [email protected]

0:42:360:42:39

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