Our Patients

Kevan Taplin

It was 21 December 2021 when Kevan Taplin, now 74, from near Dereham in Norfolk needed urgent help from the Anglia One (Norwich) crew from East Anglian Air Ambulance. He had suddenly collapsed at home with a seizure following an earlier mini-stroke

Bill's Story

Your support gave Bill back the life he loves following a paragliding incident in 2010. We recently reconnected with Bill to hear more.

Albie's Story

On 3 April 2023 our critical care team were dispatched by helicopter to a life-threatening medical emergency in North Norfolk.

The patient was six-year-old Albie.

"Everything was on my side that day to allow me to survive."

Andy was celebrating Norwich City's goal on the first day of the new football season when he slumped to the ground in cardiac arrest.

Caitlin thanks EAAA

“The horse went straight over the top of Caitlin. It had hit her before she even knew what was happening.”

Read how Caitlin thanked EAAA after she experienced a medical emergency.

A win for the chain of survival

When Allan collapsed at Cambridge United Football Club, staff from the club's Foundation quickly recognised that he was in cardiac arrest. They started CPR and fetched a defibrillator to start the chain of survival as quickly as possible.

Julia and David's story

In April 2023, Julia and David Parker visited Norfolk. They were looking to move to the county following Julia’s retirement as a GP and were spending some time viewing houses in the hope of finding their forever home when David suffered a cardiac arrest during the night.

Wendy and Steve Varney

“Wednesday 17 July 2019 is a day I’ll never forget. The first I knew that something was wrong was a phone call from my husband’s mobile number. But it wasn’t my husband on the phone. It was a female voice, a police officer. I don’t remember much about that conversation, or the one that followed, other than ‘breathing difficulties … air ambulance … touch and go."

David Durrant

When David Durrant (age 81) from Ely was walking to his local shop in November 2022, he suffered his second cardiac arrest, after previously surviving one in 2007. We were able to reach David quickly to assist the East of England Ambulance Service and provide him with the advanced pre-hospital care he needed.

Dan Gilkes

In August 2021, runner Dan Gilkes age 56 from Bury St Edmunds, was in training for his seventh marathon when he suffered a cardiac arrest in the early hours of the morning.

“My wife, Mel woke up and thought I was snoring, but she quickly realised something was seriously wrong and dialled 999,” Dan explains.

Hayley Bellchambers

"I thought I was going to die. I just lay there thinking I'm going to die: I'm going to die. Then I heard my daughter, Charley, shouting 'Mummy! Mummy!'"

One Friday morning in January 2022, Hayley was taking her daughter to see a new pony when a freak accident occurred.

Chris Bergdahl

“Early intervention and CPR saves lives. It’s really that simple."

Read how, after becoming unwell and collapsing on the bathroom floor, Chris was saved thanks to his wife, EAAA and other emergency services.

Keith Pocock

'How teamwork and what3words helped save my life'

Keith shares his story and explains how what3words helped our crews reach him after a motorcycle crash in Thetford forest.

Tope Abati

Being in the right place at the right time is something that most people take as a simple coincidence, often leading to good fortune. For Tope, being in the right place at the right time ultimately led to her surviving a life-threatening cardiac arrest.

Jonathan Willis

Jonathan Willis dodged death by mere millimetres when he was accidentally impaled by a forklift tine in November 2020, when we was working on his farm near Wisbech. The tine went in through his lower back and exited through his abdomen. 

Jonathan and wis wife Wendy kindly worked with us to create a video about what happened to Jonathan and his remarkable recovery, as well as raising over £50,000 for EAAA through a charity ball. 

Mark Drury

Mark needed our help when he suffered a cardiac arrest in the middle of the night. Mark Drury, from Suffolk, was just 50 years old when he suffered a cardiac arrest while he slept. It was September 2020 and about 1:30am in the morning. 80% of cardiac arrests happen in the home and in these situations every second counts.

Mark Youles

Mark Youles, 46 from Garvestone in Norfolk, needed help from SARS and EAAA in July when he collapsed on Southwold beach, suffering from a brain haemorrhage.

Dave Cleland

Dave Cleland suffered a cardiac arrest at home, shortly after being treated for a heart attack. His wife raised the alarm and delivered CPR which helped to save him.

Karen Davis

“I was lucky I only broke my leg and not my skull” recalls Karen, from Newmarket, who is still recovering from an injury she sustained ten months ago, during what should have been an enjoyable Sunday afternoon horse and carriage ride with a friend.

Chris Marshall

In May last year father of two, Chris was involved in a life-threatening collision with a car near Cromer Golf Club, while he was out training for a 100-mile cycle challenge. When Chris’s wife was first notified about the accident, she was told Chris wasn’t likely to survive.  

Harry Fisher

Harry was just 17 when he was in a near-fatal motorbike accident involving a van. 

Administering blood alongside medical interventions early on, just minutes after the crash, gave Harry the best possible chance of surviving.

Doctor Patricia Mills

One year on from her accident, Dr Patricia Mills, who also works as an Intensive Care Consultant at West Suffolk Hospital, has shared her story to show that anyone can need the help of East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA), at any time.  

Laura Bocking

In October 2018 Laura was driving along the A11 towards her home in Aylsham, when her life changed forever. 

Harry Sage

Teenager thanks ambulance crews who saved his life after freak accident. Harry got in a forklift to move a palette across the factory, something he had done several times, when he collided with an 18 metre long steel beam which was being moved across the factory, weighing two and a half tonne. The edge of the metal beam protruded through the cab of the forklift, striking Harry across the face and mouth, breaking his jaw.

Baby Charlie

Find out how our HEMS crew helped baby Charlie, after he pulled a pan of boiling hot water over himself while on holiday in rural Norfolk. 

Ollie Handley

Ollie was racing his kart at Red Lodge Karting in Suffolk when his kart came off the track after avoiding another accident, hitting a tyre wall at 58mph. 

Dave Woodhouse

Total strangers, Charles Morris was driving in front of Dave when he noticed the motorbike behind him had disappeared from view. Worried something bad had happened, he turned his car around and went searching. This act of kindness would save Dave's life.

Dave had been travelling down a road he knew very well, at a sensible speed, when he lost control of his motorbike and left the road. 

Simon Thomas

Louise Thomas tells us what happened after the EAAA team were tasked to help her husband, Simon, after he suffered a cardiac arrest at work, aged 53.  

Louise said: "If I am still being honest, I feel like I am still on this emotional roller coaster, but it's slowing down gradually. I couldn't be more grateful to EAAA for their life-saving interventions and the continued support we have had from the aftercare team and fundraising team during this long road to recovery."

Andrew Walker

Andrew Walker needed an urgent blood transfusion after he crashed his scooter on the way home from a night shift. He suffered major internal injuries. 

Saving Andrew's life was a huge team effort. We carry blood as part of a national trial and the blood is delivered to us every day by volunteers. Andrew has also donated blood himself several times. 

Haydn Garrod

Haydn was just 15 when he was knocked off his bike by a car. He wasn’t wearing a cycle helmet and suffered a major brain injury which nearly killed him.

Doctor Victor Inyang and Critical Care Paramedic Chris Neil gave Haydn an emergency anaesthetic to take over his breathing and protect his brain until they could get him to Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

Jack Jinkerson

Jack is eight years old and we first heard about Jack when his mum, Wendy, got in touch to tell us that Jack wanted to do a sponsored memory walk to mark his dad’s birthday.

The Anglia Two crew attended Jack’s dad, Stefan, aged 58 in April. He’d had a cardiac arrest at home in the evening and sadly passed away.

Geoffrey Roberts

Geoffrey Roberts is very lucky to be alive. He suffered a cardiac arrest while at home asleep in rural Norfolk.

His wife heard him gasping for air in the early hours of the morning and called 999 and started CPR, but they were 20 minutes from the nearest ambulance station.

Richard Woolmer

When vintage sports-car racer Richard felt under the weather, he couldn’t have imagined he would end up in intensive care, fighting for his life.  

Thanks to the teamwork of a first responder, ambulance, and EAAA, he got the care he needed. 

Paul Shattock

Paul Shattock is one of very few people who has been helped by the East Anglian Air Ambulance, twice.

Paul’s definitely one of the only people we know who’s needed our air ambulance twice within two weeks! In our book, that makes Paul a very, very lucky man.

Stephen Melvin

Stephen Melvin needed the help of our Anglia Two team after suffering a 15-metre fall from a climbing wall. Stephen remembers the rotor blades of the helicopter as he was moved on the stretcher, but then nothing else until he arrived at St George’s Hospital in London. 

Katy-Ann

Katy-Ann is a ten-year-old girl from Hales in Norfolk who suffers from brittle bone disease. To date, she has had over 80 fractures. Earlier this year, she needed our help. Katy-Ann was playing in the garden with her sisters when she tripped while running after a ball. Her leg buckled, and she let out a scream. She had broken her leg. 

Bob Burford

On 4 March 2019, the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) Anglia One crew was called out to Fakenham Racecourse when a racegoer, Mr Bob Burford, collapsed suffering a cardiac arrest.. A paramedic quickly performed CPR and Mr Bob Burford received immediate medical care from the Racecourse medical team before the air ambulance arrived.

Steve Jones

In June 2018 Steve Jones was riding his motorcycle along the road in Norfolk. As he overtook a car it turned into his path catapulting him from his motorbike, head-first through a brick wall and into a ditch filled with water. Steve was unconscious and submerged under the water, when a fellow biker riding with Steve jumped into the ditch.

Jonathan Waddingham

On one of the hottest days of 2018, 21-year-old Jonathan Waddingham and his colleague Tim Harrington were working on an irrigation system on a farm just outside Newmarket. Without warning, part of the irrigation kit suddenly exploded, catching Jonathan in the chest and immediately bouncing to his hip.

Emma Howard and baby Willow

Emma was 37 weeks pregnant when she lost three litres of blood and suffered a full placental abruption at her home.

Emma and her baby, Willow, survived due to the quick thinking of our HEMS crew and team work between all medical staff involved that day.

Jordan Greenwood

Jordan was travelling along the road on his motorcycle when a car turned right across his path and into him, throwing him from his motorcycle, causing a serious crushing injury to his right foot and ankle. To suffer such an injury like Jordans would be devastating for so many people, but Jordan has gone on to show that he can do everything he did before and so much more. 

Tom Port

Tom was pushing a rotavator machine along whilst landscaping a friends garden when it suddenly hit something and caused the rotovator to leap back and up onto his left leg, impaling it on the blade. Dr Drew Welch, CCP Ben Caine and Paramedic Liam Sagi were tasked to scene to help Tom.

Sue Scarlett

I had taken a week’s annual leave so that I could help a friend whose dog had recently had puppies by cleaning out the other dog kennels and making sure they had water.I started to put fresh water in his bowl, when he came back, put his head partially in the kennel, and grabbed my right arm. I shouted to him to let go but he just held on tighter.

Annabel Brightwell

On the 9th February 2018 Anglia Two was tasked to a three-year-old girl named Annabel, who had sadly suffered a cardiac arrest at her pre-school. Given Annabel’s age and presentation this mission was one of the most significant for our medical crew and it is with total awe we have watched her recover, grow and live a life that she deserves.

Carolyn Skipper

Carolyn and her husband Richard were going out for a casual bike ride in Norfolk when Carolyn skidded on some mud and her bike slipped out from underneath her, causing her to fall and hit her head on the road. The hairclip she was wearing caused significant and life-threatening injuries to her head.

Charlotte Salmons

Despite suffering an arrest at such a young age Charlotte quickly bounced back to normality and was soon picking up life as a busy mum once again.

The chain of survival was in the perfect order to save Charlotte’s life on the night of her incident.

Ben Parkin

On the 19th of July 2016, Ben and his family's life was turned upside down in seconds. Ben Parkin suffered a sudden cardiac arrest whilst he was at home with his wife and children. If it hadnt been for the swift action of his wife and the EAAA crew, his story would have been very different. 

Tilly

In March 2018, five-year-old Tilly started sneezing and coughing and became increasingly tired and wheezy. Tilly's condition didn't improve the following day. She rapidly became blue around her mouth from lack of oxygen and Tilly’s family struggled to keep her responsive. 

Nigel Sillis

"My name is Nigel Sillis and I am a patient of the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA). Without EAAA I would probably not be here...I’d like to share a little about myself, about what happened to me (Spoiler alert: it was really serious, I was clinically dead for a short period of time), about the ‘chain of survival’ and how, because of the intervention of the EAAA team I was on the right end of that chain."

Jessie's Mum

When Jessie’s Mum collapsed at home, we worked with the paramedics to try to revive her. Even with prompt medical attention she sadly passed away. Jessie tells us how EAAA were able to help at this difficult time.