0:00:02 > 0:00:07If you're critically ill or seriously injured, seconds count,
0:00:07 > 0:00:11and in Britain's biggest county, you can be a long way from help.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13- 'Where's the patient?' - 'She stuck under the car.'
0:00:13 > 0:00:17The Yorkshire Air Ambulance flies at 150 miles an hour,
0:00:17 > 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'll pop him off to sleep with an anaesthetic.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39..and town centres into helipads.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42- Where am I going to land? - Just behind you, Tim.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45And every day, the Helimed team's skill, speed and courage
0:00:45 > 0:00:47is saving lives.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Today on Helicopter Heroes.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02A faithful pet comes between an unconscious dog owner
0:01:02 > 0:01:03and her rescuers.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06We've had to use some of the Bite Back spray, the dog spray,
0:01:06 > 0:01:07to just get it away.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12Pilot Chris battles through the snow to reach a dangerously ill patient.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14I can drop you off, there, guys,
0:01:14 > 0:01:16but I don't think it's clever to stay.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19A drunken driver flees the scene of an accident.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23The shock will hit him today. He'll know he's killed that person.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32Get a dog and you've got a friend for life, or so the story goes.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37And the bond between pet and owner can be remarkably strong,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40as the emergency services sometimes find out at first hand.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Sharing life in a landscape like this
0:01:45 > 0:01:49makes many dogs more than pets,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53they're workmates and faithful friends all in one.
0:01:53 > 0:01:54But high in the Pennines today,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57the Helimed team are about to deal with
0:01:57 > 0:02:01a patient who already owes her life to her canine companion.
0:02:01 > 0:02:02We're going to a patient
0:02:02 > 0:02:05who has collapsed up on the top, towards Todmorden.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Bit of a strange one, really.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Sounds... I think he could be potentially very, very poorly.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Unfortunately, he's out walking with his dog,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15and his dog won't let anyone near him to assess,
0:02:15 > 0:02:17so we're heading out that way.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21Fortunately Andy's been trained in fighting dangerous creatures.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Yeah, I've got two Chihuahuas,
0:02:23 > 0:02:26so I'm well trained in the art of dog attack.
0:02:27 > 0:02:322,000 feet up on the hills above the mill town of Todmorden,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34walkers have come across a dog
0:02:34 > 0:02:37standing guard over its unconscious owner.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41- So, we got the wind farm at one o'clock.- Got it.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Joan Nadin's faithful collie Rowan knew she needed help,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49but when police arrived, he feared for his owner's safety
0:02:49 > 0:02:50and went for the officers.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53To help Joan, they had to spray him with animal repellent,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55and now he's on the run.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58And Helimed 98, about to let down at Todmorden.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04But paramedics James Vine and Andy Armitage
0:03:04 > 0:03:06are now more concerned about Joan.
0:03:06 > 0:03:07Hiya, mate. You all right?
0:03:07 > 0:03:11She's still unconscious, nearly three hours after she collapsed.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Hiya, sweetheart, are you looking at me?
0:03:14 > 0:03:15That's it. Open your eyes for me.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20- How are we doing? What's happened? - She can't speak.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24- Her arm was rigid towards the back. - Her legs have been stretching out.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Yeah, this arm was rigid at the back.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29You squeeze my hand, my love. It's the ambulance service.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32Squeeze my hand. Squeeze.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34They've nothing to go on.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Her conditions is potentially very serious,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41and it's feared that chilly temperatures
0:03:41 > 0:03:44may have made that even worse.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48This is a remote place. It was lucky Rowan attracted a party of ramblers
0:03:48 > 0:03:51to the path where Joan lay.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53I was just walking along and I saw the dog,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56and then I wasn't sure whether it was a sheepdog just hanging out,
0:03:56 > 0:03:58and then I thought, "Maybe it's a deer."
0:03:58 > 0:04:02But as I got closer, I could see, sort of, clothing, and I thought,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06"Maybe the dog's been dumped, it's got a blanket or something."
0:04:06 > 0:04:08And as a got closer, I realised
0:04:08 > 0:04:10there was someone next to the dog, unconscious.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14- Everything's fine.- The M6, mate.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18The dog was really agitated, so, erm, I phoned the police.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Understandably, Joan's dog isn't keen
0:04:22 > 0:04:26to come anywhere near a police uniform.
0:04:26 > 0:04:27Her dog was quite protective of her,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30so I've had to use some of the Bite Back spray,
0:04:30 > 0:04:31the dog spray to just get it away.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Tried lassoing it, but failed miserably.
0:04:34 > 0:04:35What's your name, my love?
0:04:37 > 0:04:39What's sore, my love? What's hurting?
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Without their patient's medical history,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45the team must work through the possible causes of her collapse.
0:04:45 > 0:04:46Nice and still.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51It could be diabetes, a stroke or a brain aneurysm.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Can't really get a good ECG, James, but it's ticking away,
0:04:54 > 0:04:5870 beats a minute. Deep breath in, my love.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02So it's not her heart - but without her explanation of the symptoms,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04they have an impossible task.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07She must have been here a while, I think, in't she?
0:05:07 > 0:05:11What is clear is that Joan urgently needs the care and diagnostic skills
0:05:11 > 0:05:13only a hospital can provide,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16and without them, her outlook could be bleak.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28Medicine is now so sophisticated,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30it's easy to forget that just a few decades ago
0:05:30 > 0:05:33people were dying from conditions
0:05:33 > 0:05:36that today don't even require a stay in hospital.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39But there are still some routine problems
0:05:39 > 0:05:42that can kill if you don't have prompt treatment.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Winter has the Yorkshire Dales in its grip.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50this is not the time or the place to be seriously ill.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52But in the hill town of Settle,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55a young woman is fighting for her life.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Doctor has been out to see a young lady,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59and said he thinks she's got appendicitis.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02Now, since that time, the patient apparently has deteriorated.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05It's been upgraded to an emergency.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10It's a potentially fatal condition,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13as it bursts, the contents of your intestines
0:06:13 > 0:06:16leach out into the abdominal cavity
0:06:16 > 0:06:20and cause poisoning, they basically poison the patient from the inside.
0:06:20 > 0:06:2420-year-old Charlotte Barton has been seen by her GP.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28She urgently needs an operation. But her condition is deteriorating.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31It's feared her appendix may now have burst.
0:06:31 > 0:06:37That process, once something bursts, to becoming critical
0:06:37 > 0:06:39is just a matter of hours.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44So, you know, if it's actually burst now, the clock's ticking.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48Their patient is at least 40 minutes from surgery by road,
0:06:48 > 0:06:50longer if the snow gets worse.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52But it could also ground Helimed 98.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Pilot Chris Attrill is concerned.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59We've got a couple of fronts coming in from the north and west.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03- How much further have we got to go? - Four miles, mate. But it's not that.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06It's the time you're sat on the ground, sorting everything out,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08and then we say,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11- "Right, get the brollies up, we're not going anywhere."- Yeah.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15I can drop you off there, guys, but I don't think it's clever to stay.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25Hello. Hello, Charlotte. So, what's the problem, then?
0:07:25 > 0:07:27- Pains down here.- Uh-huh?
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- And how long have you had those, sweetheart?- Since last night.
0:07:31 > 0:07:37- Roughly what time last night? - Don't know.- Seven?
0:07:37 > 0:07:39Charlotte is in agony.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Does that hurt that side?
0:07:41 > 0:07:43Does that hurt that side, as well?
0:07:43 > 0:07:46So you've had a period where it got worse,
0:07:46 > 0:07:47and then it suddenly went away?
0:07:47 > 0:07:49OK.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53And is it starting to get worse again now? Yeah. OK, sweetheart.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Graham isn't showing it, but he's very concerned.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01She has clear symptoms of a potentially lethal condition.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03She has had an episode where it's got worse, eased off,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05which is probably when it's popped,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and then started to get bad again now.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12Clearly ruptured appendix, patient is fully conscious, however,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15erm, but it's a good 45 minute road transfer.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18I'll give Leeds a call, if they are happy to accept,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21I'll get back and just confirm that with yourself, over.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Chris is keeping a weather eye out, and he doesn't like what he sees.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Not the best, no.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30We're not going any further west, put it that way.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Right, I just need to pop a needle in your arm, is that all right?
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Yeah, and then I can give you some painkiller, OK? Is that OK?
0:08:37 > 0:08:38All right, darling?
0:08:38 > 0:08:42- Oh, you going to be fine.- Don't worry, everything's fine. All right?
0:08:42 > 0:08:43Her condition's so serious,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47Helimed 98 will by-pass the nearest hospital,
0:08:47 > 0:08:49and fly her direct to surgeons in Leeds,
0:08:49 > 0:08:51IF they can get off the ground.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53That's the only hospital we can fly to
0:08:53 > 0:08:55cos of the poor visibility with the snow.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57The only problem is at Leeds,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00surgery goes to St James's, which is another Hospital in Leeds,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04so she might have to be transferred from the LGI, but it's still
0:09:04 > 0:09:07better than a 45 minute road trip, especially in this weather.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09The weather's closing in.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12And Charlotte's life could depend on this flight.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23When I was a copper, the hardest thing I had to do
0:09:23 > 0:09:27was tell a family a loved one had been killed in an accident.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30I can still remember the awful feeling of knocking on the door
0:09:30 > 0:09:32with news that would ruin lives.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34But every year, 2,000 families
0:09:34 > 0:09:38have to live through the agony of a road death.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40This is the story of one of them.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45The cards are still up at Helimed headquarters.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49It's the first day of 2012, the sales are starting
0:09:49 > 0:09:53and paramedic Darren Axe faces the worst of all starts to a new year.
0:09:55 > 0:09:56There are four people in the vehicle.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59So if one's sustained injuries enough to cause death,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02then the potential is the others will be badly injured as well.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Helimed 99 has been scrambled to the Stanningley bypass,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09a busy route between Leeds and Bradford.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12- You see where that grass is, where the blocks of flats are?- Yes.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14- I can stick it there.- Yeah, OK.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16There's only one ambulance on the scene,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19so they're going to need a pair of hands.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22The driver of this blue hatchback is dead.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24His wife is fighting for her life,
0:10:24 > 0:10:28and ground paramedics are determined to save her.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Leeds Helimed 99 now letting down.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34But this is no ordinary accident.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39This Volvo hit the hatchback at high speed from behind.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42What happened next horrified witnesses.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46The people that was in that car ran off up that banking,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48along with the driver, so God forgive them.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52How can you leave somebody like that and a person at the other side?
0:10:53 > 0:10:57Paramedics become hardened to the realities of death on our roads.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59But the timing of this accident,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03and the missing driver's callous disregard for his victims
0:11:03 > 0:11:05has shocked everyone.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Do you need help?
0:11:08 > 0:11:09She's agonal breathing,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12she's got a heart rate of... it was 140.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14She was stuck out there. There's a fatality over there.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16The guy, the driver, came up to the car.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19He came up to me.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21He tried to open the door first,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23and I said "Leave it, fella."
0:11:23 > 0:11:27Then he tried to grab her off me, like, go in.
0:11:27 > 0:11:28And he ran.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Then he went over there. Seen somebody down there.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33The shock will hit him today, what he's done.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36When he sees it on TV, he will know he's killed that person,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39and maybe seriously injured another life.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42How can you do that to somebody? To somebody's life?
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Do you want us to drop on to the carriage way,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48- or do you want to load and go? - I think we're going to load and go.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50Do you need me to do anything for you?
0:11:50 > 0:11:53I think we'll just go.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58Despite Helimed 99's speed, driving the female passenger to hospital
0:11:58 > 0:12:01is going to be faster than going by air.
0:12:01 > 0:12:02She's critically injured.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05I'm happy if you are, Colin.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07The West Yorkshire Police helicopter is searching
0:12:07 > 0:12:10for the missing occupants of the Volvo.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Less than three hours into his first shift of 2012,
0:12:13 > 0:12:18Darren Axe is coming to terms with another patient he could not save.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Happy New Year.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Going in here, mate.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Patient's obviously unconscious,
0:12:25 > 0:12:29having some cardiac issues as well,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33so we've attempted some resuscitation on the scene.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37The hospital is less than a mile away.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Where we've landed, it's fairly high,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42and we would have had to relocate,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45which would have added time on to the transfer,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48so we have assisted the crew, loaded her into the ground vehicle,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50and she's on her way to hospital.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55One of those details that you seem to get every year
0:12:55 > 0:12:57where somebody's going to get bad news.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Helimed 99's returning to base, but on the ground,
0:13:02 > 0:13:07paramedics are fighting to keep 65-year-old Dorothy Metcalf alive.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Sadly, it's a battle they lose.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15She's certified dead on arrival at Leeds General Infirmary.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20The new year was only 11 hours old
0:13:20 > 0:13:23when David and Dorothy Metcalf were killed in a horrific car crash,
0:13:23 > 0:13:26on the notorious Stanningley bypass between Leeds and Bradford.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30Even those who are used to witnessing horrific scenes
0:13:30 > 0:13:33of car crashes found this one particularly harrowing.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35It was a high speed crash.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38David and Dorothy Metcalf both died at the scene.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41They were in a Fiat, the other driver in a Volvo.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45Eduard Mereohra has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48and was remanded in custody until January 10th.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51The funeral will take place next week.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57A week after the accident, 300 people turn out
0:13:57 > 0:13:59for the Metcalfs' funeral.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02David was a retired electrician.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05His wife spent much of her time looking after their grandchildren.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08The man who killed them was drunk.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12The problem with these type of details,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15is they are always tragic incidents.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16People totally unsuspecting,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19you know, going about their business,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22and then are run into by a drunk driver.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26I can't pass judgment on it, but it is just so needless.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Unfortunately, the relatives that are left behind
0:14:31 > 0:14:33after a tragic fatality,
0:14:33 > 0:14:37it's something they'll never forget or even get over.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40The Metcalfs' son Clive is now dealing with the trauma
0:14:40 > 0:14:44faced by 3,000 families a year in the UK.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47The aftermath of a fatal road accident.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51Simply visiting his parents' deserted home is painful.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54I answered the phone, and said "Happy New Year",
0:14:54 > 0:14:57and he just said to me, "I don't know how to say to this,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00"but your mum and dad have just been killed in a car accident."
0:15:00 > 0:15:05And it was just, like, the whole world froze and went numb.
0:15:05 > 0:15:06It was surreal.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11No-one knows where the Metcalfs were going on January 1st.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15What is certain is that they were driving within the speed limit.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19Dad being dad was probably doing 45 to 50, rather than 60,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23and this car has just come through doing 100, 120mph,
0:15:23 > 0:15:25and hit them from behind.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29The Volvo went straight into the back of my dad's car,
0:15:29 > 0:15:30and it just cartwheeled down the road.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33By coincidence,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36the TV presenter who broke the news of the new year accident
0:15:36 > 0:15:39to the county where it took place,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41is a close friend of the couple's son.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44He's seen the toll their deaths have taken on Clive.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46I've seen him since the funeral.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49I think he's coped very well with it.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53I mean, clearly it hit him quite a bit after the event.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55I think it hit his sister immediately.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57I think she really found it difficult to cope,
0:15:57 > 0:15:59and I think the strength of the family
0:15:59 > 0:16:02had a great deal to do with keeping them all together.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06But I think the effects of losing his mum and dad
0:16:06 > 0:16:10in the way that he did, probably sunk in after two or three days.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16But fatal accidents take their toll on the emergency services too.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20We're all very aware of the point at which you reach the limits
0:16:20 > 0:16:24of the skills that you have, and that there's still nothing
0:16:24 > 0:16:28we could do to assist them at the scene.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Eduard Mereohra was an illegal immigrant
0:16:31 > 0:16:34who'd spent New Year's Eve drinking heavily.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Four months after the crash,
0:16:36 > 0:16:41his victims' family arrived at Leeds Crown Court to see justice done.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46Eduard Mereohra was asked if he was guilty or not guilty
0:16:46 > 0:16:51and he pleaded guilty to two counts of death by dangerous driving.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55We are grateful that plea has been given.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Clearly he's robbed us of Mum and Dad
0:16:58 > 0:17:02and we want him to spend as much time inside for that
0:17:02 > 0:17:04as we can possibly get.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09The driver was jailed for nine years and the judge ordered him
0:17:09 > 0:17:14to be deported to Moldova, but that's little consolation
0:17:14 > 0:17:17to the friends and family the Metcalfs leave behind.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34High in the Pennines, the paramedics are dealing with the difficult case
0:17:34 > 0:17:37of a dog walker found unconscious by ramblers.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Squeeze my hand, my love, it's the Ambulance Service.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Squeeze my hand. Squeeze!
0:17:43 > 0:17:46On the windswept moors above the town of Todmorden,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50dog walker Joan Nadin's at the centre of a medical mystery.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53She's been unconscious for nearly three hours
0:17:53 > 0:17:55after collapsing on a remote path
0:17:55 > 0:18:00and paramedic James Vine can still see little sign of a response.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03- What's your name, my love? - What's your name?
0:18:03 > 0:18:08What's your name? Open your eyes. Open your eyes for me, chicken.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Open your eyes. What's your name?
0:18:11 > 0:18:16Their patient's vital signs are good but James and his colleague Andy
0:18:16 > 0:18:19fear her collapse could be a symptom of bleeding in her brain.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24It's a theory the first rescuers to arrive have already had.
0:18:24 > 0:18:25We've got to her.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29We can see that her left arm was in spasm behind her
0:18:29 > 0:18:33and she was unable to speak, which we thought could be signs of a stroke.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37But the hunt is still on for the woman's dog.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39It was guarding its owner.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42We've got two chaps with dogs trying to catch it for us,
0:18:42 > 0:18:44but it's running away from them.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48One, two, three, lift. Everyone happy?
0:18:48 > 0:18:51We've definitely got no ID, nothing on this lady, have we?
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Do you want to keep hold of bag or take it with us?
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Take it with us. There's no value in it.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Maybe one of the officers
0:19:02 > 0:19:04will be able to get some information out of it.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08The team still doesn't know who its patient is.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11- Can you say your name for me? Do you know what's happened?- No.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16You've had a fall while you've been out walking the dog. The dog's safe.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19At last, she's showing signs of responding,
0:19:19 > 0:19:20but she's still very confused.
0:19:20 > 0:19:27- What's your name?- Joan. - Joan, what's your surname?- Nadin.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29- Maiden?- Nadin.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Nadin? Nadin.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34James knows that she may have been up here
0:19:34 > 0:19:37since early this morning. He's concerned for her family.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39Is there anyone at home?
0:19:41 > 0:19:45- I don't know. - Do you live with anybody?
0:19:45 > 0:19:49- My husband.- Husband. What's the telephone number at home?
0:19:49 > 0:19:54What James and Andy still don't know is what caused Joan to collapse.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57If she was walking her dog up here, she must be physically fit.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59Just run her through the system,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01see if there's owt like this before or anything?
0:20:01 > 0:20:05Has she a serious but undetected medical condition?
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Has the doctor ever said you're diabetic?
0:20:08 > 0:20:11It's a mystery only hospital doctors can solve.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14On initial taking of her blood sugars,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16they seemed within the normal range.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19But as we've retaken them again, they're a little bit low.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22We're going to give her some glucose intravenously.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Hopefully that will raise her blood sugar levels up.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27However, she does need a bit of a check over.
0:20:29 > 0:20:3198 Airdesk, lifted scene, over.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34'Roger, James. Thanks.'
0:20:34 > 0:20:38Joan's being flown to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary,
0:20:38 > 0:20:42a few miles from her home in the Pennine town of Todmorden.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Doors, pilot, safe-locked.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50In the next hour, tests will show whether Joan's sudden collapse
0:20:50 > 0:20:54was due to diabetes or something more serious.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58One thing is certain, if it hadn't been for her dog,
0:20:58 > 0:21:01she could still be lying unconscious on the moor,
0:21:01 > 0:21:05and despite a police search, he's still missing.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16A ruptured appendix kills thousands of people every year
0:21:16 > 0:21:21in the third world, but the weather means patient Charlotte Barton
0:21:21 > 0:21:25may face the same fate in rural North Yorkshire.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31Snow's already lying on the Pennines above the market town of Settle,
0:21:31 > 0:21:32and more is on the way.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37If Helimed 98 is grounded, it may cost Charlotte Barton her life.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39The signs and symptoms are suggestive
0:21:39 > 0:21:41that her appendix has actually possibly ruptured
0:21:41 > 0:21:43because her abdomen's become quite rigid
0:21:43 > 0:21:47which is a sign of peritonitis.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49I'd suggest that she's getting to a more critical condition,
0:21:49 > 0:21:53so at the moment she's stable but obviously we don't want to wait
0:21:53 > 0:21:54till she deteriorates.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Charlotte's ruptured appendix is slowly poisoning her body.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00There's no time to waste
0:22:00 > 0:22:02and walking is the fastest way to get her to the chopper.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05We were supposed to be going to the gym today, joining the gym,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08and she rang and said we weren't going.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10She'd been up being sick all night and she'd got pains.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12That was the start of all this.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15The roads around her home are already treacherous.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18Pilot Chris Attrill must get his patient to Leeds
0:22:18 > 0:22:22and find a way through the blizzards.
0:22:22 > 0:22:23He's smiling, but tense.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Not quite as bad as we had as we were approaching in.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29It seems to have eased off a little bit but at least
0:22:29 > 0:22:32we're going away from it once we set off back towards Leeds.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35- How's the pain doing now, darling? - All right.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37Would you be prefer to be rid of it?
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Right, let's have a look at this arm now.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Just going to go out.
0:22:45 > 0:22:46The opposite direction.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51Air ambulance pilots are governed by strict safety laws.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Flying into the sort of conditions found in a blizzard
0:22:54 > 0:22:56is strictly illegal.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59It doesn't matter how seriously injured their patient is,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02the safety of the chopper and crew must come first.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04Air desk 98, over.
0:23:06 > 0:23:12- 98, go ahead.- We've now got moderate sleet at LBA, over.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16If the bad weather has reached Leeds Bradford Airport,
0:23:16 > 0:23:18it's not looking good.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Cut the corner a tad,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24any problems we'll roll right down into the low ground.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31There's a real risk this flight will end in an emergency landing,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34leaving Charlotte and the crew stranded in the Dales.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39I've got that, mate. I've got the power lines 12 o'clock as well.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43- What a yucky day.- Got the horizon and beyond it, so we're good, mate.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46How's your pain now, Charlotte? Is it gone?
0:23:47 > 0:23:52- It is still there.- Do you want me to try and get rid of it completely?
0:23:52 > 0:23:55But the skills that kept Army veteran Chris
0:23:55 > 0:23:58and his passengers alive through conflicts in Iraq and Bosnia
0:23:58 > 0:24:00are on Charlotte's side today.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03That should be it on the nose.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05There's the ambulance.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08We're just circling the landing spot now.
0:24:08 > 0:24:09We'll be going down.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12They've beaten the weather.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16Surgeons at St James's Hospital in Leeds are already scrubbing up.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19They know that even with modern drugs and treatments,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22a ruptured appendix is a potential killer.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Charlotte's appendix is removed just in time.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30She's treated with antibiotics
0:24:30 > 0:24:33and kept under observation for several days,
0:24:33 > 0:24:35but after a week she's sent home,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39lucky to survive a medical emergency
0:24:39 > 0:24:42that stretched the Helimed team to the limit.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47Once it's burst it releases things, poison into your body.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50It gives you different illnesses from there, I think.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54It's all about getting it out quickly.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59They got me down to Leeds within 15 minutes or so.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01If I'd have left it longer to ring the doctor,
0:25:01 > 0:25:05then it could have been worse without getting to hospital quicker.
0:25:10 > 0:25:11Now, back to the Pennines
0:25:11 > 0:25:14where the Helimed team is dealing with one of the most unusual cases
0:25:14 > 0:25:19it's ever handled, thanks to a family pet.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Helimed 99 is heading for Huddersfield Royal Infirmary
0:25:24 > 0:25:27where it's hoped doctors will be able to find
0:25:27 > 0:25:30the reason for dog walker Joan Nadin's collapse.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Paramedic Andy suspects his patient may be diabetic.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37She's a little bit confused,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40but initial check of her blood sugars is absolutely fine.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43But as we've got her into the air and rechecked the sugars,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46which we would normally do, recheck baseline observations,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49it's become apparent that her blood sugars are low.
0:25:49 > 0:25:54And she seems to be responding to the glucose which he's given her.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Did they send anything out to screen?
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Do you know what you're coming for?
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Nearly 2.5 million people in the UK have diabetes,
0:26:02 > 0:26:06and Joan is now able to confirm she is one of them.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10- Insulin dependent.- I am insulin dependent.- BM initially was six.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Are you insulin now, are you? OK.
0:26:12 > 0:26:18Sorry. BM was 2.6, she's had 200 of glucose.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23But paramedic James fears Joan's diabetes is not her only problem -
0:26:23 > 0:26:28he wants doctors at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary
0:26:28 > 0:26:32to carry out tests to rule out something more serious.
0:26:32 > 0:26:38Over the next 24 hours, Joan is detained in hospital.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Doctors eventually come to the conclusion that
0:26:41 > 0:26:45an imbalance in sugar levels was all that triggered her sudden collapse.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48The next day, she's released -
0:26:48 > 0:26:52and allowed home for a reunion with her faithful pet.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57I had actually eaten half an hour before the incident happened,
0:26:57 > 0:27:01and I had taken what I thought was ample carbohydrates.
0:27:01 > 0:27:07And, I mean, how it happened is beyond my comprehension,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11because I don't remember hardly anything about it at all.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14- What's your name, my love? - What's your name?
0:27:14 > 0:27:17I do remember coming round and I do remember
0:27:17 > 0:27:19when they were shouting at me
0:27:19 > 0:27:21and trying to get me conscious and everything.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24I thought I'd done everything I should have done,
0:27:24 > 0:27:26and everything went wrong.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Rowan and Joan are inseparable.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31He can even sense when her blood sugar levels are falling.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35Rowan is actually aware of when I'm going low,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38and he does actually start jumping up at me.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42And he does start alerting me to the fact I might be low.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47But I just wasn't in a state to sort of pay much heed to him,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50because I think I just fell unconscious very rapidly.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54After his brush with the law, Rowan ran three miles home.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57My husband had gone out looking for him,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59my daughter had gone out looking for him,
0:27:59 > 0:28:03and he did actually come back on his own, he was sitting on the doorstep.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07He's a family dog, and we all love him to bits.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12And the longer I've known him, the more fabulous I think he is.
0:28:12 > 0:28:17He's the wisest dog I know. He would have protected me, I'm sure.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21And I'm pleased to tell you Joan
0:28:21 > 0:28:24and her pet have no plans to give up their walks on the moors.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28But Rowan is now - understandably - a little wary of police uniforms!
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd