My son, Dan was involved in a devastating car accident just before Christmas in 2022. A crew from East Anglian Air Ambulance were tasked by helicopter to the scene on the A47 outside Norwich. Every possible effort was made to save Dan at the roadside, and East Anglian Air Ambulance’s skills and equipment kept him alive long enough to get him to hospital. Despite their critical care and best efforts, he had suffered catastrophic injuries.
I knew, as soon as I saw him in the hospital, that he’d gone. Tests later confirmed that his brain was dead, and he was taken off life-support in Addenbrooke’s Hospital two days later. He was just 20 years old.
The crew’s actions gave us two days and the chance to say goodbye. For our family, this was massive and why we are so grateful to the charity. Dan’s friends also visited him over the two days. They played music to him, they laughed, they joked, and they cried. He meant so much to us all.
Our grief was unimaginable, but we took comfort in the fact that we could honour a decision of Dan’s that would change the lives of people he would never meet. He had previously spoken about the subject of organ donation, so we – myself, my husband Jeremy, and our daughter Lily – already knew this is what Dan wanted, and we were able to carry out his wishes.
Georgie was the recipient of part of Dan’s liver. She later got married and acknowledged Dan in a speech on her wedding day. We’re now in touch. Thanks to Dan she can look to her future. It gives me comfort because part of Dan is still alive. He’s still helping people – he was always happy when he was helping people. He’s gone, but he hasn’t.
It’s a deeply personal and powerful choice but, in our family’s darkest moments, Dan’s wishes to be an organ donor brought some light.
The rapid response and critical care from East Anglian Air Ambulance was made possible by people like you who donate to the charity. Dan received the highest level of care when he needed it most, and that makes us calmer because we never had that ‘if only East Anglian Air Ambulance had been there’ feeling; they were there and they gave Dan the best possible chance. Before his accident, I thought they were just a helicopter in the sky. It’s only when something like this happens that you realise it’s much more. It enabled Dan to do so much good from something tragic.
This Christmas, we’ll remember our beloved son, brother and friend – as we do every day of the year – and we’ll celebrate his kindness and incredible gifts to others.