A man who was airlifted by GNAAS after a serious motorcycle incident is taking part in the Great North Run to raise funds for ourharity.
Keiron Gavaghan, 40, from Batley, West Yorkshire, was riding near Ripon on 14 July 2013, when his bike suffered a catastrophic engine failure, resulting in oil being sprayed onto the rear wheel and hot exhaust, which caused a fire.
He left the road to try and bring the bike to a controlled stop, but noticed he was approaching a wire fence and an oak tree, so he decided to jump from the bike and ended up breaking 14 bones in his body.
The father-of-two said: “I landed heavily on my hands and head and I was a right mess.
“Unfortunately, some of the bones went right through my lungs and when I stood up quickly, I realised I couldn’t breathe and keeled over.”
Thankfully a second rider stopped at the scene and called the emergency services before helping Keiron to his feet to move him away from the bike, which was fully alight.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service arrived on scene, along with the fire brigade to extinguish the fire which had spread to the hedgerows.
Following initial assessments by the paramedics, they requested the help of GNAAS who were quickly dispatched to the incident.
They identified Keiron had a punctured and collapsed lung with internal bleeding and flew him to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough where two chest drains were inserted and a full body MRI scan was undertaken.
He said: “The timeframe of getting me to hospital was essential otherwise it could have been a fatality. I was in intensive care then the high dependency unit and I discharged myself after eight days. It took three years of physio and surgery to get better, and it was touch and go at the start whether they could save my arm.”
Since the incident Keiron’s friend Alan Brigg was involved in a motorcycle collision near Ingleton and airlifted by Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA).
To thank both GNAAS and YAA for their help, Keiron and 12 friends cycled 250 miles from Leeds to London in 24 hours, and raised nearly £14,000, which was split between the charities.
Keiron has now challenged himself to raise further funds for GNAAS by taking part in the Great North Run in September.
He said: “The Great North Run is a great fun day out and helps to motivate people to stay healthy. If you can do something which you enjoy at the same time as raising funds for a vital service like GNAAS then why not. The reality is, were it not for GNAAS I wouldn’t be sharing my story today.
“GNAAS may be something people never need, and hopefully don’t, but if you or a loved one ever does need to call upon them, they are there.
“To meet the costs of providing the service, it is only right that people contribute in whatever way they can. If you can do that whilst also enjoying the Great North Run, then even better.”
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