0:00:03 > 0:00:06If you're critically ill or seriously injured, seconds count,
0:00:06 > 0:00:09and in Britain's biggest county,
0:00:09 > 0:00:11you can be a long way from help.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13- Where's the patient? - She's stuck under the car.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15The Yorkshire air ambulance flies
0:00:15 > 0:00:16at 150 miles an hour,
0:00:16 > 0:00:21and thanks to its speed, hundreds of patients are alive today,
0:00:21 > 0:00:25saved by a highly-skilled team of doctors and paramedics.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27- Stand clear everybody. - Keep going, mate.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31It covers some of the UK's most rugged landscapes,
0:00:31 > 0:00:34turning roadsides into operating theatres...
0:00:34 > 0:00:37We're going to put him off to sleep with an emergency anaesthetic, OK?
0:00:37 > 0:00:39..and town centres into helipads.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42- Still good on the left? - Just behind you, Tim.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44And every day, the Helimed team's skill,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47speed and courage is saving lives.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Today on Helicopter Heroes,
0:00:58 > 0:01:02a mother and son are knocked down on the walk to school.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Now, both are critically injured.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08He's got a head injury, he's been hit about 20 foot by a car.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12There's a freak accident, and a farmer's in agony.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15The heavy roller seems to have gone over both legs.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18The swimmer who leapt before he looked.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20There was this big inflatable ring
0:01:20 > 0:01:22and he dived in it and cracked his head.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26And a man with a chainsaw felled by a tree.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29What it feels like is my heel is going to explode.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Road safety has come a long way in the past few years.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45The number of pedestrians killed has halved since the 1990s.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48But that still means around 100 people a week are killed
0:01:48 > 0:01:52or seriously injured crossing our roads, and the sad fact is
0:01:52 > 0:01:56children make up the biggest group of casualties.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01The early morning walk to school for one youngster and his mum
0:02:01 > 0:02:03has ended very badly.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06It's a kiddie and a pedestrian been hit,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09but they think that maybe other kids have been hit as well,
0:02:09 > 0:02:10with the same car.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Clear left.
0:02:12 > 0:02:13The accident has happened
0:02:13 > 0:02:16in the former mill town of Colne in Lancashire.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21Because of bad weather on the west coast, Helimed 99 is the nearest
0:02:21 > 0:02:23helicopter currently able to fly.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29Emergency crews arriving at the accident scene manage to send
0:02:29 > 0:02:34an update through to Helimed 99, and it's not good news.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36What we've done is, uh, these two pedestrians have been
0:02:36 > 0:02:43thrown 20 feet, and the child has got a head injury.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45- That's as much as we know. - So, we've got two patients?
0:02:45 > 0:02:49So, the person in the car's all right, we've got two patients
0:02:49 > 0:02:51who've been knocked down by the car.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Yeah, that's it, that's what he's handed over.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55- One adult, one child?- Yeah.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58OK, clear of the fences on the left.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02Landing in a built-up area can be difficult, but police have managed
0:03:02 > 0:03:07to close the park next to the busy main road for Helimed 99.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12- Eh up, mate.- Go to 186.- Yeah.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14- We've got her son.- Right.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16So, he's primed to go.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19- We've got a second helicopter on its way.- OK.
0:03:19 > 0:03:20Are you happy there?
0:03:20 > 0:03:25The patient lying in the road is the mother of a nine-year-old boy.
0:03:25 > 0:03:26She is seriously injured,
0:03:26 > 0:03:31but he is worse, and the Helimed paramedic's priority.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36- Hello there, it's all right. - BOY CRIES OUT
0:03:38 > 0:03:41- Femur.- What are you doing? - It's all right, bonny lad.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46Nine-year-old Leighton Cowdry is confused and frightened.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51You can clearly see the impact his head made on the car windscreen.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54It's a worrying sign.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58He's got a head injury, he's been knocked down...
0:03:58 > 0:04:00He's been hit about 20 foot, by a car.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04And he's also got a fractured left femur.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08So I'm just going to get the splint just to sort that out.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11There was no shortage of witnesses to the accident,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15including other parents making the same short journey.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18I was just coming out of the house, taking my lad to school,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20and there was a lady - I presume it was the driver -
0:04:20 > 0:04:22just running out of the car, shouting for help.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25So we just tried to assist where we can.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29We just helped the little lad on the floor, made him comfortable,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32and tried to reassure him that someone was looking after his mum.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36The vehicle following the car was a petrol tanker.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Its shocked driver made the 999 call.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41It was just surreal, slow motion.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45Tossed up in the air, six or seven feet, it was as quick as that.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54The condition of Leighton's mother is causing increasing concern.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01But the clearing weather has allowed the North West Air Ambulance
0:05:01 > 0:05:04to get through to take her to hospital.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07They looked unconscious to me.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09I think the little boy was drifting in and out,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12but this lady here seemed unconscious.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15So, that was it, the police came, and the ambulance.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Just relax, it's fine.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Leighton's head injury is worrying paramedic Dave Appleby.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23He wants to get him to specialists
0:05:23 > 0:05:26at the Leeds General Infirmary as quickly as possible.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28- No, no, I'm his uncle. - You're his uncle?
0:05:28 > 0:05:30- Give LGI a...- A call?
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Just tell them that he's been knocked out.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36I'll give LGI a call, no problem.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38He has also got a femur that's gone.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40- All right.- All right?
0:05:40 > 0:05:42So, what are you going to do when you get to LGI?
0:05:42 > 0:05:44I can talk to you on 1-2-3-0 if you want?
0:05:44 > 0:05:46But there's another problem -
0:05:46 > 0:05:49the North West air ambulance also needs to fly
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Leighton's mother to Leeds.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Pilot Andy Lister must come up with a plan.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57As things have turned out, their casualty is ready before ours,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59so they are having to go across to Leeds,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02and somehow we're going to have to come up with an arrangement
0:06:02 > 0:06:04whereby he can clear the pad
0:06:04 > 0:06:07so I can bring our casualty in subsequently.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11The North West Air Ambulance is airborne.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15The pressure is on to get mother and son into A&E.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Time is your biggest enemy if you're seriously hurt,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34and in a county as big as Yorkshire, the clock is always against you.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37A major hospital can be 30 miles away,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41so the speed of a helicopter can be a lifesaver.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45It's harvest time on the Yorkshire Wilds,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48and thousands of agricultural contractors are busy
0:06:48 > 0:06:51getting the grain in and preparing for next year's crop.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54But on one farm near Beverley, work has stopped.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59A man's been run over by a farm implement weighing two tonnes.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02His pelvis and both his thigh bones are fractured.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05The internal bleeding alone could empty the entire body's blood volume
0:07:05 > 0:07:08into those three fractures.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10So these are life-threatening injuries.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12Farmer John Bird was walking behind a tractor
0:07:12 > 0:07:15which was towing this seed drill.
0:07:15 > 0:07:20Somehow it went over the top of his body, crushing his pelvis.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Helimed 98, approximately one minute to run,
0:07:22 > 0:07:24we'll advise when touched down.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Oh, there it is.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Landing here will be no problem.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33A flat, open field is rare luxury for a Helimed pilot.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39It quickly becomes clear why the air ambulance has been called in.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43John in is so much pain, the paramedics are having trouble
0:07:43 > 0:07:44just transferring him onto a stretcher.
0:07:44 > 0:07:4747-year-old male who was walking alongside this device
0:07:47 > 0:07:49on back of the tractor while it was in motion,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52and he was checking something, and he's ended up going underneath.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57Rollers have gone across him. He's got extreme pain around this area,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00but he says he felt it go over both legs and crunch him.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03These wheels passed over his legs and pelvis. He's very lucky to be alive.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07The guy's got possibly serious injuries at the moment,
0:08:07 > 0:08:12and we're hoping to get him to hospital as soon as we can.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Hello, John, I'm one of the paramedics.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17I'm just going to have a quick look at your legs and your pelvis.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Without an X-ray, it is impossible for paramedic Sam to determine
0:08:21 > 0:08:24exactly what injuries John has sustained.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Considering the weight of this machinery,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30broken bones and internal injuries are very likely.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33When I arrived, John was pretty much in the position...
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Well, he was position that he is in now.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39The heavy roller seems to have gone over both legs, quite high up,
0:08:39 > 0:08:43and we're querying fractured legs, probably pelvis as well.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Have you got pain anywhere else? Or is just across the middle bit?
0:08:46 > 0:08:48- My back. - And the bottom of your back?
0:08:48 > 0:08:51John had had the maximum amount of morphine
0:08:51 > 0:08:54the paramedics are allowed to give him.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56But he is still in considerable pain.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58It's my right leg as well.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00HE GROANS
0:09:00 > 0:09:02Is it hurting there at all where I touch you?
0:09:02 > 0:09:05It's not hurting there at all.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09When he is motionless, his pain is now under control,
0:09:09 > 0:09:15but even when the smallest effort is made to move him, it's agonising.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17You got a hold there? OK, we're going to roll.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19Ready, steady, and roll.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23- Sorry, John, sorry, John. - Sorry, John.
0:09:23 > 0:09:24Relax, mate, just keep breathing.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26Remember that gas and air, all right?
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Nice, deep breaths, all right?
0:09:28 > 0:09:30John needs something stronger,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34and unfortunately, the paramedics are out of options.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36They only have a limited number of drugs at their disposal.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41- What did they say about basics? - Trying to get somebody.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Paramedic Darren decides to seek help from the local hospital.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48He's calling Hull Royal Infirmary.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Our choices are simple - either we need to give him more morphine,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54to move him, which may or may not work,
0:09:54 > 0:09:59or we can come and collect a doctor from the department
0:09:59 > 0:10:02who can bring ketamine and give the patient a dose of ketamine
0:10:02 > 0:10:03so we can remove him.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08The hospital agrees to dispatch doctor to its helipad.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12The flight to pick him up will take just few minutes.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Every minute John remains at the scene of his accident
0:10:18 > 0:10:21potentially makes his condition more difficult to treat.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24His life could depend on this dash to hospital.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Helimed 98, we've lifted and en route.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Hull Royal ETA is four minutes.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Most of us have heard horror stories
0:10:39 > 0:10:41of people being injured on holiday abroad,
0:10:41 > 0:10:45and travel insurance is a multi-million-pound industry.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49But you're just as likely to become a casualty on a break in Britain,
0:10:49 > 0:10:53as one Scottish holidaymaker found out this summer.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59Taking a break at a theme park sounds a great idea.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03That's what the Mason family from Dundee did,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06and these are the holiday snaps to prove it.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10But Granddad Ian's stay at Flamingo Land in North Yorkshire is
0:11:10 > 0:11:13about to end painfully, in the park's swimming pool.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17- RADIO:- He's now complaining of C-spine tenderness.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19He can't move his head or neck at all.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23Nearest ambulance is 40, 4-0, minutes away.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29Helimed 98 en route, behind the line of traffic.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32It's just a 12-minute flight
0:11:32 > 0:11:35from the Helimed's new base at Topcliffe airfield
0:11:35 > 0:11:37to the North Yorkshire attraction,
0:11:37 > 0:11:41a place paramedic Andy Armitage knows well.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I've been myself lots of times. A few years ago now,
0:11:44 > 0:11:48very busy, they've got a zoo there, lots of big animals,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51and some quite good rides. I didn't realise they had a swimming pool.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53I think that could be on the campsite area.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58With the rollercoasters towering above the Yorkshire scenery,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01it's certainly a place that's easy to find.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Wee-hee, Flamingo Land!
0:12:04 > 0:12:08- Well, the obvious place to land is right next to it.- On the grass.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15Yeah, don't land in the lions. See, lions down there now.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20But sadly today, there's no time to enjoy the park.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Are they inside still? Nobody's come out?
0:12:22 > 0:12:27Andy's patient is in pain and unable to move.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31He's jumped up from the bottom of the pool and dived through a ring,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33and then gone back into the water head first.
0:12:33 > 0:12:34Went straight to the bottom
0:12:34 > 0:12:37and smacked the top of his head on the bottom of the pool.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39So, jumped up, gone through a ring..?
0:12:39 > 0:12:42He's jumped up while he's been in the pool.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45- He's come out a bit far? - Yeah, he's come out of the water,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48then gone through a hoop and gone and hit his head on the pool.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51There was this big inflatable ring, and he jumped, he dived in it
0:12:51 > 0:12:53and cracked his head.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Keep your head still. Don't nod it or anything like that.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59He just jumped over it, like, dived in the hoop.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01It's like a big inflatable ring and he dived in it
0:13:01 > 0:13:05and he cracked his head off the bottom of the floor.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08- He says it's four out of ten, your pain.- Uh-huh.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10- And you don't want anything for it?- No.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14He's already been examined once, by the park's own medic.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Unfortunately, it is a common diving incident, where people aren't aware
0:13:18 > 0:13:21of just how deep the water is or where the bottom is.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23I've done a full examination,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25found he's complaining of pain in his neck,
0:13:25 > 0:13:26so as a precaution,
0:13:26 > 0:13:31I've collared him and dialled for the 999, ambulance.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Ian Mason could have broken his neck.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37People have been paralysed in accidents like his.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39And it's already been a bad week.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43Well, we've been here since Monday, weather's been absolutely atrocious,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46we've been flooded, moved pitches three times,
0:13:46 > 0:13:48and it's just been a disaster from day one.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50I just can't wait to go home now.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56We're going to use the spinal immobilisation, so if this chap has
0:13:56 > 0:13:58hurt his neck or his spine,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00then we'll not move it and cause any further injuries.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04So, to do that, basically, we put him on this sort of rigid board.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08It splits in half, so it's easier for us to put under him,
0:14:08 > 0:14:10without having to do log roll.
0:14:10 > 0:14:11Ready, steady, roll.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16We're between several major urban areas.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19We've got Middlesbrough to the north, Hull to the south
0:14:19 > 0:14:21and York to the west.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Having a fast response via the air ambulance is pretty vital,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27considering we could have several thousand people here
0:14:27 > 0:14:28at any one time.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33There can be injuries, medical complaints, all sorts going on.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36So having that back-up there is always a bonus.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38- We'll be off. - Are you going to phone them,
0:14:38 > 0:14:39or are they going to phone you?
0:14:39 > 0:14:43- We're going to phone the hospital. I'll be on the phone.- OK.
0:14:43 > 0:14:48It'd better be nothing serious, cos you'll be driving me in the morning!
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Give Granddad kissy bye-byes.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Hi, Sister. It's Andy, one of the paramedics off the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
0:14:57 > 0:15:03Just booking in a patient we're bringing in from Flamingo Land.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07He's been diving in a pool and he's hit his head on the bottom.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11He's got some C-spine tenderness, he's got central neck pain, basically,
0:15:11 > 0:15:13and radiating to the right side of his neck.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21Rather than a drive of over an hour from here to hospital,
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Ian is soon flying for treatment to a trauma centre
0:15:25 > 0:15:29with specialist spinal facilities in Teesside.
0:15:39 > 0:15:4450 miles away, back at the theme park, Ian's family starts packing,
0:15:44 > 0:15:48while at James Cook Hospital, Ian is sent for a series of X-rays.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51When I got to the hospital, they say,
0:15:51 > 0:15:55"Well, we're going to have to X-ray you." So they X-rayed me
0:15:55 > 0:16:00from the side, from the back,
0:16:00 > 0:16:02and then through my mouth.
0:16:02 > 0:16:08And they says, "It was just sort of like whiplash, it's just...
0:16:08 > 0:16:11"You've your neck, and you just need to work it.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15"Take painkillers." And after two or three days of the painkillers,
0:16:15 > 0:16:16the pain started to go away.
0:16:18 > 0:16:24So now, two weeks on, the pain has subsided, and back at home in Dundee,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26the Masons' holiday photos are a permanent reminder
0:16:26 > 0:16:31of this unforgettable holiday from hell.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33The place was fine, it's just that everything went wrong.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Before I went, I had to buy another car to get there,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41and when I got there, we got flooded twice,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45and I lost my phone, locked the keys in the car,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48and then to top it all, I had the accident.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02Back to the case of Leighton and his mum,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05knocked down as they crossed the road
0:17:05 > 0:17:07near their home in the market town of Colne.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11Two helicopters are involved in their rescue.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Can you remember what happened? You can't?
0:17:15 > 0:17:19Minutes after his mum took off for hospital,
0:17:19 > 0:17:24nine-year-old Leighton is about to follow her, aboard Helimed 99.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26This lad's had quite a nasty accident.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27He's been knocked down by a car
0:17:27 > 0:17:30at quite a high speed. He's got a head injury,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32and his left femur's gone.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34So we're going to take him to the same hospital
0:17:34 > 0:17:36his mum's going, which is the LGI.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42- Keep your eyes out for wire. - Yeah, I am doing, no probs.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47Leighton is on the way to be reunited with his mother.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50They are minutes behind the other chopper.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53At this moment in time, he's looking a little bit drowsy, which is
0:17:53 > 0:17:57probably the morphine, but we need to get him X-rayed,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59as he's had a big bang to the head.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01And for such a little lad,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04they can seem that they are managing everything brilliantly,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07but then, it's like falling off a cliff.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12So, I want to get him there as quick as I can and get him checked out.
0:18:12 > 0:18:18There is only room on the hospital helipad for one helicopter at a time,
0:18:18 > 0:18:22and delaying Leighton is not an option.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Unfortunately, we set off not too long after the previous helicopter,
0:18:25 > 0:18:27and as I understand it,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30they are currently still waiting on the pad at the LGI.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33So, I've called up, told them that we are inbound,
0:18:33 > 0:18:35and hopefully he'll be clear by the time we arrive.
0:18:35 > 0:18:41Over Leeds, pilot Andy can see the other helicopter is still there.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Here's what's going to happen, OK?
0:18:44 > 0:18:47He's going to have to come back for his paramedics,
0:18:47 > 0:18:49so the best thing is if he lifts now, I'll drop you off,
0:18:49 > 0:18:53then I'll clear the pad and go back Leeds, and when you call me,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55I'll just come back and pick you all up.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57- Just lifted now.- Yeah.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03With precision timing,
0:19:03 > 0:19:07the helicopter that brought his mum to hospital makes way
0:19:07 > 0:19:10for the Yorkshire team and her poorly son.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13For me, it's a first, trying to get two helicopters onto one pad...
0:19:13 > 0:19:17As you might be able to hear, my helicopter is flying around,
0:19:17 > 0:19:19waiting for me to get back on.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22But hopefully, when this helicopter moves,
0:19:22 > 0:19:26he can pick me back up so we can head back to Manchester.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Paramedic Dave is keeping his nine-year-old patient talking.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34Your head's hurting? What, at the front, or just all over?
0:19:34 > 0:19:37- Back.- At the back?
0:19:37 > 0:19:39But he's still concerned.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42This is Leighton, he's nine, he'll be ten next month.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44He's been hit by a car.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48Looking at the damage, it looks like his left femur's gone.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51The next hour will be critical for Leighton,
0:19:51 > 0:19:55as the doctors subject their young patient
0:19:55 > 0:19:57to a catalogue of scans and X-rays,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00while another team cares for his badly-injured mum.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Saving lives is all about teamwork. On the air ambulance,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17most days there's 40 years of medical knowledge
0:20:17 > 0:20:20and thousands of hours of flying experience.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25Together, that knowhow can make a real difference to its patients.
0:20:25 > 0:20:2898, just lifted and en route back to location.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32Pilot Andy Lister and paramedic Darren Axe are carrying
0:20:32 > 0:20:33a very important passenger -
0:20:33 > 0:20:39a hospital doctor - with the drugs to ease the agony of farmer John Bird.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44He's is so much pain after being run over by an agricultural implement
0:20:44 > 0:20:46weighing two tonnes, he can't bear to be moved.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50- You OK back there, Doc? - Yeah, I'm fine, thanks.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53You get a good view. Thanks for coming out and helping us.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57This guy has had a full 20 of morphine.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59He's hemodynamically stable.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02But every time we try and lift him onto the board, he's just in agony.
0:21:02 > 0:21:08It's about a five or six tonne piece of farming equipment
0:21:08 > 0:21:12that's run over his legs and pelvis.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14Just move that a tiny bit there, John.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17It comes right through, into the top of my back.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Local paramedics were quick to call in the air ambulance.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22Despite their proximity to Hull,
0:21:22 > 0:21:26transporting a patient with pelvic injuries
0:21:26 > 0:21:31across a bumpy field would cause unnecessary suffering.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33This face mask just sits over your mouth,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35and we'll just get someone to hold the purge valve,
0:21:35 > 0:21:36and all we need to do is
0:21:36 > 0:21:39just keep taking nice, slow, steady, deep breaths, all right?
0:21:39 > 0:21:43His pain's quite well controlled at the moment.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45It's just when we try and splint him
0:21:45 > 0:21:47or get him packaged to move to the hospital,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50or onto the air ambulance, it's causing him extreme discomfort.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53So we've called for a doctor to come out
0:21:53 > 0:21:55and give him something a lot stronger,
0:21:55 > 0:21:57where he's not going to feel anything.
0:21:57 > 0:21:5998, back on the ground.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03This is a welcome sight for John and his rescuers.
0:22:03 > 0:22:09Helimed 98 is carrying the drugs and the knowhow to ease his pain.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11He's been out and about, doing some farm work.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16The trailer has rolled up onto his right hip,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19and it's rolled back down.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22He's complaining of pain in his right hip
0:22:22 > 0:22:25and the right side of his back, going down to his buttocks.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27To help stabilise their patient,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30the paramedics will wrap John's abdomen in a pelvic splint.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34This will help restrict the movement of any broken bones,
0:22:34 > 0:22:39which could cause further damage to fragile internal organs.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42Are you happy with the height of that one? Or do you want it lower?
0:22:42 > 0:22:43It needs to be lower.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45Doctors are permitted to give
0:22:45 > 0:22:49much higher doses of morphine than paramedics.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51It's hoped that now John can bear
0:22:51 > 0:22:54the painful process of being lifted onto the stretcher.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57I'm going to give him three or four minutes.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59As much purging of that as we can do.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03When he starts to go all tingly and that,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05we're just going to roll it
0:23:05 > 0:23:08literally just far enough to get the board under.
0:23:08 > 0:23:14Hopefully, when the two have been stabilised, then we're steady away.
0:23:14 > 0:23:15Sam gets the team organised.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20Any lack of coordination when moving John will only cause more suffering.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22Just with your other hand, like a C-grip, that's cracking.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26Doc, have you got that leg? Have you got this leg, mate?
0:23:28 > 0:23:31In one swift move, John is rolled onto the stretcher.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36He can now be given another short burst of pain-relieving gas and air,
0:23:36 > 0:23:38before he is moved to the chopper.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44- That wasn't easy, was it? - Oh, it was terrible.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Tell me about it.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50We've given him so much morphine now that we've had to hold off
0:23:50 > 0:23:54the ketamine, and we've given him a bigger dose of Ventinox.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58Hopefully, that's relieved his pain. We've able to get him on the stretcher
0:23:58 > 0:24:02- and remove him to the aircraft. - Don't drop me, don't drop me.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08With the light fading fast, John is loaded into the chopper.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15We've got a 50-year-old gentleman that's been run over
0:24:15 > 0:24:16by a piece of farm equipment.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20He's complaining of pain in his right hip and lower back,
0:24:20 > 0:24:24possible neck injury, possible pelvic injury.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29Racing the setting sun, it will take Helimed 98 five minutes
0:24:29 > 0:24:32to get John to Hull and its trauma unit.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35Darren and Sam know their patient is very seriously injured,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39and accidents involving farm machinery are notorious
0:24:39 > 0:24:41for further complications, like infection.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43Right, Doc, thank you very much for your help,
0:24:43 > 0:24:45we really appreciate it, you coming out.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Cheers, guys. Have a good shift.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51It's be ten days before John is off the danger list at Hull Royal.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55As the team feared, his pelvis is fractured,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57and he has dislocated his right hip -
0:24:57 > 0:25:01injuries he remembers only too well.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03It just all happened so fast. I could feel...
0:25:03 > 0:25:07I could feel my bones... Well, I could hear them crunching,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10and I could feel things crunching as it came up.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15And then obviously as my hip came out from the socket,
0:25:15 > 0:25:21I felt a big snap and a tugging, and with that, it was on my pelvis.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26And, um... It just happened so fast.
0:25:26 > 0:25:31I mean, as everybody said, if it had been another split second,
0:25:31 > 0:25:35or millimetres, I wouldn't be sat here today.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40John's now recovering from major surgery at Hull Royal Infirmary.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Because his thigh bone and pelvis have been separated in the accident,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46repairs involved a complicated procedure,
0:25:46 > 0:25:50with a frighteningly-high risk of failure.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Once something's been taken away from your body,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57you only have a limited amount of time
0:25:57 > 0:25:59before your body starts to reject it.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03The anaesthetist came, and he said,
0:26:03 > 0:26:08"I'm only giving you a 25% chance that your hip will survive."
0:26:08 > 0:26:14He said, "You've a 75% chance that you're going to lose your leg."
0:26:14 > 0:26:21So, you know, time was the absolute essence, it was critical for time.
0:26:21 > 0:26:22And, you know,
0:26:22 > 0:26:26that was where the helicopter played a major part in it.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34Ever since man learned how to climb trees,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36people have been falling out of them,
0:26:36 > 0:26:41and scarcely a week goes by without someone needing the Helimed team
0:26:41 > 0:26:45thanks to an oak, an ash or an elm.
0:26:45 > 0:26:492,000 people earn their living from Yorkshire's woodlands.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52But since petrol-driven chainsaws went on the market,
0:26:52 > 0:26:57the country's become a home to tens of thousands of amateur lumberjacks.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01- It's a bloke out of a tree, or something?- Yes.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08Is it? Bit grisly, then, possibly.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11I think it was an access issue, as well.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16And in this weather, paramedic Darren is already wondering
0:27:16 > 0:27:17how this could have happened.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21It's raining quite heavily at the moment. You would think that
0:27:21 > 0:27:25people would think twice before trying to scramble up a tree
0:27:25 > 0:27:27when it's absolutely throwing it down with rain.
0:27:27 > 0:27:32OK, the road that we got in front of us, I reckon that's that farm,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35just in front on the nose now, that's where we need to be.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37He's at a farm, is he?
0:27:37 > 0:27:41A paramedic road crew has just got to 42-year-old Michael Midgely,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45who's in agony after falling from a tree on his remote farm.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52- We've got a sheep in this field. - This field here?
0:27:52 > 0:27:55- Yeah, this one here. To our left now.- Oh, what, one sheep?
0:27:55 > 0:27:56He's gone in t'corner.
0:27:56 > 0:28:02- I'll just keep an eye on the sheep. - Crazy, crazy sheep.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08I thought you were going to squash the sheep!
0:28:08 > 0:28:12No, no, the sheep will get out of the way, if it's got enough sense!
0:28:12 > 0:28:14- This is Michael.- OK.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18- He thinks he landed feet first. - I definitely landed feet first.
0:28:19 > 0:28:25He heard a crack as he landed, and a horrendously sharp pain
0:28:25 > 0:28:28straight into the back of his ankle.
0:28:28 > 0:28:33- What it feels like is my heel, it's going to explode.- Right.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36We were just cutting down the hedge, putting up this new fence,
0:28:36 > 0:28:39and then that tree was in the way, so we just cut it down.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43But the tree fell, and the ladder collapsed under him,
0:28:43 > 0:28:48and he fell on off, and blood splurted out of his ankle.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51The ladder was against there, but as it fell,
0:28:51 > 0:28:55I'd got a chainsaw in my hand, so what happens is,
0:28:55 > 0:28:57as the branch was going, the saw got stuck,
0:28:57 > 0:29:02So I didn't want the saw to come back on me, because it was spinning,
0:29:02 > 0:29:06so I tried to push the saw away, lost my balance and went. Ladder went afterwards.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09- And did the branch come down behind you?- Branch went first.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12- That went forward, and I sort of went straight down.- Good job, then.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14What's your pain score now?
0:29:15 > 0:29:16- Out of ten?- 12.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20Being in such pain, Darren's keen to give Michael morphine.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24His tattoos suggest he's not scared of needles.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27That's a nice bit of ink, that. Who did that for you?
0:29:27 > 0:29:28- Sheffield guy.- Oh.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31So, the amount of needles I've had in that arm...!
0:29:34 > 0:29:36They always say it's the colouring-in that hurts,
0:29:36 > 0:29:38but it isn't. That outlining hurts most.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41Darren should know - he has an arm tattoo himself.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44The gentlemen's been using a chainsaw, cutting some branches,
0:29:44 > 0:29:47and I think the branch has given way
0:29:47 > 0:29:50before he's finished cutting it,
0:29:50 > 0:29:52which has sort of lodged him off balance,
0:29:52 > 0:29:54The ladder's come from underneath him.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57He's managed to ditch the chainsaw, luckily,
0:29:57 > 0:30:03and he's come down on his feet. He's got an isolated ankle injury.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06Open fracture, we do believe.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09- Stay nice and still, Michael, for us.- Not moving.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12His ankle is so badly injured, the bone is sticking out.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15And despite two dressings, it's still bleeding.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17Lift your foot a minute, all right?
0:30:19 > 0:30:24All right, Michael, we're just going to strap your leg up a bit.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28- It's bleeding quite heavily, actually.- Ah, for crying out loud!
0:30:28 > 0:30:31- Keep taking that in. - Still got a good...
0:30:34 > 0:30:38With injuries like this, people have known to lose a foot
0:30:38 > 0:30:40if the blood supply is cut off.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44Yeah, Roger, we've got a 42, 4-2, year-old male.
0:30:44 > 0:30:45He's fallen 18 feet out of a tree.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49So, with the family sheep now out of the way,
0:30:49 > 0:30:53a flight to hospital on Helimed 98 is Michael's best chance
0:30:53 > 0:30:55for a full recovery.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01Don't worry, mate, we won't drop you. We only drop people on Sundays.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05Michael's flown to hospital in Doncaster,
0:31:05 > 0:31:08where surgeons operate on his foot and his ankle.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12He's soon home, but it'll be a while before he's up a ladder again.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20Of course, you don't have to fall out of a tree
0:31:20 > 0:31:21for one of them to hurt you.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25Today, on a road in East Yorkshire, there's been a bizarre crash
0:31:25 > 0:31:29after a huge falling branch landed on a car,
0:31:29 > 0:31:32leaving its driver trapped in a roadside ditch.
0:31:32 > 0:31:37- RADIO:- Roger 98, another emergency. We've got a male.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43He was driving along, a tree branch has fallen in front of the vehicle.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47It's left the road and is currently on its side, in a ditch.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50It's not the kind of day for branches to be falling off.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52There is a bit of wind, I suppose.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55- The wind has picked up.- But it's not exactly gale force, is it?
0:31:56 > 0:31:58He's complaining of neck pain,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01and it looks like he might have an injury to his arm.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04We believe there is a doctor on scene who requested air support.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08So, we're going to go down and see if we can assist in any way.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11It looks like the traffic has been diverted down here.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15Low right, one o'clock.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17Helicopters have trouble with trees too.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21They are a major cause of crashes among inexperienced pilots.
0:32:21 > 0:32:26Army veteran Chris Attrill knows to give them a wide berth.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28We're over the trees at that road, mate.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30You're clear of the trees to the rear, mate.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33And you're good out to the right and to the rear.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38What's happening with the patient?
0:32:38 > 0:32:43Coming down the road, unluckily, one of the tree branches come off,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46- straight onto his windscreen.- OK.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51He doesn't remember anything from when the tree hit the windscreen.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55He's left the road and bounced off this tree.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58No windscreen or cabin by the time we got here,
0:32:58 > 0:33:00it was completely crushed.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04It's hard to imagine that all this has been caused by nature.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09Their patient has just been cut out of his overturned car,
0:33:09 > 0:33:11and the seriousness of the crash is clear to see.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15He's possibly been knocked out by it, and could have sustained
0:33:15 > 0:33:16other injuries. The crew are just about to
0:33:16 > 0:33:19get him out of the vehicle. So we're just going to have
0:33:19 > 0:33:21a quick look at him on their stretcher now
0:33:21 > 0:33:23and decide whether we should take him by road
0:33:23 > 0:33:24or for us to fly him out to Hull.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28We know that branch has fallen, hit his windscreen.
0:33:28 > 0:33:34Yeah, he can't remember much after the branch landed on the car.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37Engineers have now arrived to start clearing the road,
0:33:37 > 0:33:40and it's going to be a big job.
0:33:40 > 0:33:45Each of these branches weighs more than the car they landed on.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48His main problem is C-spine pain, but if he's got no deficits,
0:33:48 > 0:33:51then he's probably better off by road.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56Although they suspect this driver could have serious injuries,
0:33:56 > 0:33:59the accident happened a short drive from Hull's main trauma hospital,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02so he's going to travel there by road
0:34:02 > 0:34:07while the emergency tree surgeons get to work here on the roadside.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14Nearly 350 square miles of Yorkshire is woodland.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16Nearly two million individual trees.
0:34:16 > 0:34:21From the ancient remains of woods once reputed to harbour Robin Hood,
0:34:21 > 0:34:23to spruce plantations barely a decade old,
0:34:23 > 0:34:26forestry is a major industry, but if you go down to the woods today,
0:34:26 > 0:34:29you'll find they are a playground too.
0:34:29 > 0:34:34I was on that branch over there, and she was climbing,
0:34:34 > 0:34:38and her mum called her, and when she was putting her phone back,
0:34:38 > 0:34:44after she put her phone back, she fell, she just... She fell.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48Tree climbing, it must be the start of the summer holidays.
0:34:48 > 0:34:49They're in the trees, mate.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53Yeah, you can see the kids waving there. Near the goalposts.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56First I knew about it was her friends ringing home,
0:34:56 > 0:34:58ringing my mobile,
0:34:58 > 0:35:02saying that she's fallen out of a tree and rolled down.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05And it was quite high, and they'd rung the ambulance.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09We have a tendency to over-exaggerate, but she has fallen
0:35:09 > 0:35:11from the very top of that tree over there, Dad.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13I think she's landed on her right thigh.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15Her right thigh has definitely gone.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19Rebecca Scatchard had been exploring these woods with her friends,
0:35:19 > 0:35:24and it was actually a call from her concerned mum which led to her fall.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30We weren't sure if she was just, like, unconscious or anything.
0:35:30 > 0:35:35So, we ran up to her, she was just, like, crying.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38She was screaming a lot, and she wouldn't move.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42She's been down here all day, they've had a picnic.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47Been playing with a ball, Frisbee, skipping rope and everything.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50There used to be a swing down here, it broke.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52And she decided to climb a tree.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55And fall off.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57Can we have traction splint, please, mate?
0:35:57 > 0:36:01She's got a badly-broken leg, and the paramedics are also worried
0:36:01 > 0:36:03about her back.
0:36:03 > 0:36:08It supports your leg and it takes the pain away, essentially.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11Paramedic Ben Anderson was the first to get to her.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13He used to fly with the air-ambulance team.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18Now he has to reassure his worried patient
0:36:18 > 0:36:21that this is the way she needs to travel.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25- Will the helicopter crash? - Like I say, I did two years on it,
0:36:25 > 0:36:28I wouldn't have gone in it if I thought it was going to crash.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31Hey, I'm a right scaredy cat, and I went on it.
0:36:31 > 0:36:32I promise it won't crash.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35We're going to keep this leg straight so it doesn't waggle about,
0:36:35 > 0:36:38because when it waggles about, it hurts, doesn't it?
0:36:38 > 0:36:41Paramedic Darren is going to fit a specialist traction splint
0:36:41 > 0:36:47to Rebecca's leg, an ingenious device that will not only support,
0:36:47 > 0:36:49but also straighten her broken leg.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51- SHE MOANS - Sorry, I'm not moving it.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54But getting it in place is a painful process.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58We got one on. The second one coming up, mate.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02And ready, steady, lift.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09She was just already laid on the floor.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11You can tell from her clothes that she tumbled
0:37:11 > 0:37:13when she had come out of the tree.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Initially thought, "Well, I've been to plenty of people
0:37:16 > 0:37:17"falling out of tree in parks,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20"it's very rarely over the patient's own head height."
0:37:20 > 0:37:24But I think we can safely say she's gone about 30, 25 foot there.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27When she's landed, I think she's landed purely onto her leg.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30Her thigh muscle has definitely gone, you know, so...
0:37:30 > 0:37:32It's a closed fracture,
0:37:32 > 0:37:36but we've given her plenty of morphine and got her on her way.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38It's broken, you don't need to look at an X-ray.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40You're going to have a nice pot.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42- All right?- Can people sign it?
0:37:42 > 0:37:44Yeah, they can sign it.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46- You can even have a pink one if you like.- Yay!
0:37:46 > 0:37:48Yeah, OK? Super. Right.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57So, just minutes after gravity pulled her down to Earth,
0:37:57 > 0:38:00Rebecca and her mum are heading back up through the trees.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04They're both being taken straight to the regional trauma centre in Leeds.
0:38:04 > 0:38:10It's clear where Rebecca got her concern about flying from.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12Her mum vowed this was something that she'd never do.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15I was frightened stiff, but it was very nice.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19I've never, ever gone in a helicopter, never.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23Now that I've been in one, brill, absolutely brilliant.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26Under different circumstances, I hope!
0:38:27 > 0:38:31They do a very good job. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33But doctors at the LGI make a shocking discovery.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37Rebecca's injuries are much worse than anyone suspected.
0:38:37 > 0:38:42She's broken two vertebrae in her neck, as well as her thigh bone.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46She spends much of her school holidays in hospital,
0:38:46 > 0:38:49undergoing a series of operations.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55But six weeks later, she's back with her friends in her local park.
0:38:56 > 0:39:02It's called a halo, and it's keeping my neck still, because I've broken
0:39:02 > 0:39:07two vertebrae that's in my neck, C-6 and C-7.
0:39:07 > 0:39:12There's two bolts here, and two bolts in the back of my head.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14And then it goes all around the back of my head,
0:39:14 > 0:39:16it goes down here. There's a belt round here,
0:39:16 > 0:39:21and it goes all around there. Goes round my shoulders as well.
0:39:21 > 0:39:22Since her accident,
0:39:22 > 0:39:26mum Dawn thinks Rebecca's tree climbing days are over.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28We'd been in hospital five days, and I came back in
0:39:28 > 0:39:31and I went to look at the tree
0:39:31 > 0:39:34and told it off for throwing her out!
0:39:34 > 0:39:39But Rebecca won't come back in, and I don't think that the girls...
0:39:39 > 0:39:42They won't be going near the trees.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47Rebecca will wear the metal frame for a number of months.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50Her neck is still very fragile.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52If I was to bang it again, it could do more damage,
0:39:52 > 0:39:56and then I won't be able to... I might be paralysed.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58Won't be able to do anything.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02Rebecca might be changing her playground in future,
0:40:02 > 0:40:06but she certainly won't be changing her playmates.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09I just love them to bits, I can't ask for any more.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14If they weren't there, I don't know what I'd have done.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16And you'll be pleased to hear that
0:40:16 > 0:40:19all those patients, touch wood, are on the mend.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23Now, a flight in an air ambulance is just the beginning
0:40:23 > 0:40:25of a long and painful recovery
0:40:25 > 0:40:28for many of the Helimed team's casualties.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33At Leeds General Infirmary today, doctors are dealing with two patients
0:40:33 > 0:40:37from the same crash, mother and son.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42Nine-year-old Leighton Cowdry's head did this to the windscreen.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45Hit the car with his leg, hit it with his head.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49There's a dent in the apex, which takes a bit of doing.
0:40:49 > 0:40:50Now, doctors must determine
0:40:50 > 0:40:54what damage the impact has caused to his skull.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58Delivering his patient into the skilled hands of A&E consultants is
0:40:58 > 0:41:02a moment of relief for paramedic Dave Appleby.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04But he still has his concerns.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07He's in the right place now, he's got a full trauma team here
0:41:07 > 0:41:10that are paediatric-trained as well.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13So, they've given him a full top-to-toe examination.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16Bearing in mind what's happened to him,
0:41:16 > 0:41:19he's obviously going to need a scan for his head.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24And also, he needs treatment to his leg.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27That needs completely straightening and fixing.
0:41:29 > 0:41:34Dave's job is finished, and it's time for Helimed 99 to return to base.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37Within the hour, Leighton's mum is undergoing orthopaedic surgery
0:41:37 > 0:41:40at the LGI.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42Her son follows her into theatre.
0:41:44 > 0:41:45The following morning,
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Emma wakes up to find their accident is headline news.
0:41:48 > 0:41:53There was a car just there. There's nowt I could have done, nothing.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58I could see loads of people around me,
0:41:58 > 0:42:02and the first thing I thought about was Leighton,
0:42:02 > 0:42:04"Is my baby all right?"
0:42:04 > 0:42:08They were all telling me that he were fine, but I couldn't see him.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10So obviously, I weren't convinced that he were
0:42:10 > 0:42:12until I actually did see him.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17All she wants now is to see her son.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21And the reunion means a wheelchair ride down two floors of the LGI
0:42:21 > 0:42:24to the children's ward.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31- I was hit on my head. - I know. I love you.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37Leighton is sedated and recovering from surgery.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39And Emma is still in a lot of pain.
0:42:39 > 0:42:44How's your leg? Are you not good at walking?
0:42:44 > 0:42:47The good news is Leighton's head injury turned out
0:42:47 > 0:42:50not to be as serious as his badly-broken thigh bone.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53They'll both take some time to recover.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57But they're alive, and after an accident like this,
0:42:57 > 0:42:59that's as much as anyone could ask.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd