What Happened?

On the 19th of March 2021, my brother, our close friend Joe and I went climbing at Fairy Cave Quarry. After finishing the route, both Harry and Joe fell approximately 30 meters on the descent; initially sliding down the rock face gaining speed and then finally free falling the last six or seven meters onto jagged rocks. They both sustained very severe injuries. Harry taking most of the impact on his head, causing a traumatic brain injury. Joe fell feet first resulting in fractures to his left heel, right ankle and spine. I can’t describe what it was like to witness them fall.

I phoned the emergency services straight away and tried to tend to them as well as I could. An ambulance arrived incredibly quickly, shortly followed by other first responders and finally the air ambulances. The Wiltshire Air Ambulance (WAA) and Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) were involved in stabilising both of them before airlifting them to hospital. The Wiltshire crew took Joe to the Royal United Hospital in Bath and the Dorset & Somerset team took Harry to Southmead Hospital in Bristol. Due to the nature of their fall and not knowing the full extent of the injuries they had sustained, I was unsure if I would see them again. The following few days were extremely difficult for all of us. Although it soon became clear that Joe would survive, it was still uncertain how much his injuries might impact him in the future. As for Harry, there were a few days where we weren’t sure if he was going to survive and, even if he did, how the brain injury might completely alter his life.

(Harry and Sam in photo)

Harry and Joe not only survived but have made miraculous recoveries. This was due to the brilliant response of all the emergency services. Each team worked efficiently and calmly with each other, allowing Joe and Harry to get to the helicopters and en route to the hospital as fast as I could have hoped. Without the air ambulance all our lives would be very different.

If you would like to know the full story I have attached a link below, to the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance magazine article about the incident.

https://online.fliphtml5.com/yikfn/rhfy/#p=22

Why are we raising money?

Simply put, we want to raise money to give back to the people who saved Harry and Joe’s lives. Without the efficient and quick response of the emergency services, Harry would not have survived and Joe’s injuries would have been more complicated. Therefore, we want to try and raise as much money as we can to help fund both air ambulance organisations. Although they are a vital part of our Emergency Services, they rely on donations and various fundraising events to raise enough money each year to keep running. We want to contribute as much as we can to this essential service that is responsible for saving lives every day. We are incredibly grateful to the Air Ambulance Teams and everyone else who was involved in saving Harry and Joe’s lives and helping with their recovery.

Facts about Air Ambulances

• There are 21 different air ambulance charities in the UK

• Collectively they complete approximately 36,720 missions a year

• They are operational up to 19 hours a day, 365 days a year.

• The Wiltshire Air Ambulance alone costs £4 million a year to run

• No government money or national lottery, completely funded by donations and fundraising events

What are we doing?

On the 27th of June, we will be hiking the Welsh 3000s. This is a 30-mile hike that summits the 15 peaks in Nort Wales that are above 3000ft, in 24 hours. This will approximately total at 3700m of elevation, nearly half the height of Everest.

The event starts on the top of Snowdon, so some people camp the night before. However, we will include the summit of Snowdon in the event. This will be a tough challenge for us to complete together. Not only is it a way we can raise money to donate to both charities, but it is also a chance for us to reflect on the past two years and appreciate how different things could have been.

So any money you can donate would mean a great deal to us and the Air Ambulance Teams. Many thanks for your support.