A farmer has thanked the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) after he was airlifted by the charity.
Robert Fotheringham, of Fairfield Farm, Workington, met the GNAAS crew who came to his aid after an accident on October 19.
The 73-year-old was getting in to a digger near to his farm, when he slipped backwards, fell and broke his thighbone.
He said: “I heard my leg break so I knew straight away what I had done. I was laid on my back and reached for my mobile to ring my son who was working at the farm. He rushed to help while the emergency services made their way to where I was.”
North West Ambulance Service paramedics arrived at the scene and requested the assistance of GNAAS. The charity’s Pride of Cumbria aircraft flew to the rescue and the doctor-led trauma team treated his injuries before putting him on a splint board. Teams then carried him over a fence to where the air ambulance had landed in a field.
GNAAS paramedic, Terry Sharpe, said: “We were called to the scene because of the remote location and difficulty in getting an ambulance close to where the patient was laid. We’re glad we could help.”
Mr Fotheringham said: “The on-board doctor and paramedic did such a great job and I was in the air and en route to hospital in no time.”
GNAAS then flew him to Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary, where he had an operation and remained in hospital for eight days.
Mr Fotheringham and wife, Margaret, who have been married for 55 years, last week visited the air ambulance base at Langwathby and met Mr Sharpe and the rest of the GNAAS crew.
“I wanted to pay a special thanks to the people that helped me”, said Mr Fotheringham, “the air ambulance is a great asset to Cumbria, especially up the fells and in places that are hard to reach.” He also paid tribute to his wife, “no one can look after me as good as our Margaret can,” he said.
His grateful granddaughter, Yvonne Scott, 25, from Workington, also thanked the crew: “The guys did such a great job in getting my granddad to hospital so safe and quickly. We want to say a big thank you from all of the family.”
GNAAS operates the only air ambulance based in Cumbria and is 100% funded by the generosity of the public. To donate, visit gnaas.com
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