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Experienced ATV rider Kieran thought he was ok after he crashed his bike near Ouse in August last year and got back on his bike – not realising he soon needed lifesaving care.
“I unfortunately hit a tree stump on the side of the track, and I kept going but the bike stopped,'' Kieran said.
“At the time I thought I’d just injured my stomach area, maybe some broken ribs. I didn’t think too much of it and jumped back up after a couple of minutes and rode back to the cars – things then went pear shaped.”
He started vomiting and collapsed when a road ambulance crew arrived – they called for a helicopter when they identified that his condition was more serious than Kieran initially thought.
“He looked pale and sweaty and unwell and showed the first signs of shock.
“I was grateful that the first paramedic at the scene had looked at the patient, identified that his tummy was getting bigger very quickly indicating a massive bleed and called the helicopter and that was actually the lifesaving decision on the day - that’s why the helicopter is so important because it saves time,” said Dr Anke, Retrieval Consultant.
Kieran vaguely remembers being put on the helicopter and then a few days later, he woke up in hospital.
“It was a bit of a shock when I woke up, I thought I had broken some ribs and when I looked down, I had a 10-inch scar down my stomach, it sunk in more that it was more severe,” he said.
Kieran's injuries were much worse than he expected – he also had internal bleeding, torn his kidney and had to have his spleen removed.
He has since made a slow recovery and was able to meet up with the flight crew earlier this week to say thank you, alongside one of his daughters Maisie.
“We transfer people to the Emergency Department, or an operating theatre and we don’t see them again so to be able to close the loop, it’s awesome,” Intensive Care Flight Paramedic Andy said.
“It’s quite a surreal feeling – I do owe them my life, if I had to drive out of there I may not be here,” Kieran said.