Dewsbury man reunited with air ambulance medics who saved his life

Twenty five year old Jack Talbot, who is from Dewsbury where is family still live, was airlifted from the incident in Ulverston, Cumbria, where he now lives and works, by medics from Northumberland based Great North Air Ambulance (GNAAS) after the speeding driver hit him at the junction of Park Road and Priory Road in July 26.

Jack was in a critical condition and sustained a serious brain injury, a T7 fracture, a right scapula fracture, rib fractures and a collapsed lung.

He was put into a medically induced coma on scene by the GNAAS doctor-led trauma team before being airlifted to the Royal Preston Hospital, remaining in an induced coma for 13 days and eventually leaving the hospital after five weeks to continue to recover at home.

Jack said: “After I was discharged I thought I was better, which I now know wasn’t the case. I couldn’t do ordinary day-to-day tasks and I kept forgetting basic information like what happened to me and the reason why I was in hospital. It was only when I looked at my discharge letter from the hospital that I realised the extent of my injuries. I’m a lot better now and my memory seems to be back to normal, although it wasn’t great to start with.”

A paramedic for the North West Ambulance Service, Jack recently visited the GNAAS air base at Langwathby and met Dr Laura Duffy and paramedic Andy Dalton who came to his aid in July.

He said: “GNAAS are amazing. As a paramedic I think I used to take the air ambulance for granted, but as a patient I see them totally different. I was lucky that they were available because they’re not only quick at getting people to hospital but they have a doctor on board. I wouldn’t be here without them. I’m currently a paramedic on the road but my ultimate goal is to one day be a critical care paramedic on an air ambulance. They deal with a lot of trauma incidents which require advanced skills, and I’d love to work in that type of environment.”

Jack is expected to be returning to work soon, and has been offered the opportunity to work a shift with GNAAS to experience what it is like to be part of an air ambulance crew.

He and his girlfriend Joanna Daniels have written blog posts about the incident, which you can see at https://jacktalbot07.wordpress.com/

Last year GNAAS responded to 1042 call-outs and needed to raise £5.1m - to find out more visit www.gnaas.com