Keith's Story

On 17 February 2022, Keith Taylor, then age 59, left for work on his motorbike from his home in Suffolk at his usual time of 5:30am. He was an experienced rider, having ridden for over 30 years. However, a few minutes into the journey along the busy A143, Keith was involved in a road traffic collision (RTC). He was thrown 185ft from his motorcycle, landing in the middle of the road. The left-hand side of his body took the impact; he was caught underneath his motorbike and was critically injured.

“The first thing I saw was bone sticking out of my left arm,” Keith recalls. “People at the scene said I was in a bad way and not to move.”

EAAA’s Anglia One (Norwich) crew were tasked by helicopter to bring critical care to Keith in the moments when he needed it most. When Critical Care Paramedic Rod, Dr Ben and Dr Jon arrived, they immediately saw that Keith had open fractures to his left leg and arm. Rod says, “When we landed, it soon became apparent Keith was a very poorly patient.”

Their immediate concern was the amount of blood Keith had lost, so they followed the major haemorrhage protocol to give him blood at the scene. Blood transfusions can give the most gravely injured patients, who are suffering a major bleed, the best chance of getting to hospital through increasing oxygen delivery and clot production.

“In the middle of all of this, I heard my phone ringing,” Keith says. “It was my partner, Linda, trying to warn me about an accident. Usually, I call her when I arrive at work, but that day I didn’t. The next person to come to our door was the police.”

Keith was given sedation and pain relief so the crew could manipulate his severely injured leg.Keith was flown to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital for further treatment and care. Sadly, surgeons were unable to save his left leg, and it was amputated above the knee. “They told me it was either my leg or my life,” Keith says.

Keith spent two months in hospital followed by four and a half months in a rehabilitation centre, learning to walk again. “They told me I’d never walk again. It was very emotional, and I was in tears when I took my first steps.”

“If it wasn’t for the air ambulance, I wouldn’t have made it,” Keith adds.