The parents of a 17-year-old boy, who needed a roadside blood transfusion to save his life after a motorbike accident, have spoken of their sons 'unbearable' ordeal.
Towards the end of last year Harry Fisher from Long Stratton was involved in a near-fatal collision in Newton Flotman.
The college student was overtaking as a van turned into a layby, meaning he crashed into the side of the vehicle at speed and was left with critical injuries.
The East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) was tasked to the accident and was unsure if he would make it to hospital due to the amount of blood he was losing.
Doctor Jeremy Mauger, who treated Harry at the scene, said: “This was one of the worst cases I have ever seen. I honestly didn’t think Harry would make it to hospital that day, let alone recover as well as he has done."
One of the treatments implemented to stabilise the 17-year-old was an immediate blood and plasma transfusion at the site of the crash.
The blood transfusion alongside multiple other critical care interventions at the roadside enabled paramedics to get the 17-year-old to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, by land ambulance. These actions taken early on, just minutes after the crash, gave him the best possible chance of surviving.
Without a blood transfusion Mr Fisher's odds of surviving would have been significantly reduced, according to EAAA.
Catherine Fisher, Harry’s mum, said: “We’re just so grateful that Harry got the treatment he needed to get him to hospital. That was the first major hurdle to overcome.
"It’s been an incredibly long recovery for Harry and he still has a long way to go but we are getting there.
"All those weeks he was in a coma were simply unbearable, but he had a fighting chance and has been fighting all the way."
The blood Harry received was part of a national trial - that has now come to an end - and EAAA needs to raise more than £80,000 in order to routinely carry blood in the future, to help more patients like Harry.
Mrs Fisher continued: "We will be eternally grateful to the air ambulance team who literally saved his life and got him to hospital and believe their skill and the blood transfusion they could provide at the scene made a huge difference.
“We hope lots of people will support their blood appeal so that future patients of EAAA will have the same level of care and chance of life that Harry had.”
The target for the appeal is £89,354, which includes the one-off implementation costs and going forward, EAAA will need to raise in the region of £70,000 a year to routinely carry blood.
The charity aims to start carrying blood in all of its vehicles and helicopters in July 2021.
Richard Hindson, head of operations at EAAA, said: “We’re committed to providing a state-of-the-art air ambulance service and providing the very best treatments that we possibly can for our patients.
"A key aim of ours is to permanently carry blood to help us treat our most gravely injured patients and save more lives.
"Due to the on-going restrictions on our normal fundraising events and initiatives, we are launching this as an urgent appeal and really hope that the local community will support us in reaching this goal.
“We know this is the best thing to do for our patients and hope to be able to implement carrying blood again as quickly as possible.”
How can people support this appeal?
Phone: 03450 669 999 by debit or credit card (08.30am-5.00pm)
Text: BLOOD to 70460 to donate £5, text BLOOD 10 to give £10, or BLOOD 20 to give £20)
Online: www.eaaa.org.uk/blood
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