NURSERIES across North Cumbria came together to raise money for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) in recognition of the charity saving the life of four-year-old Logan Murdoch.
Logan, from Carlisle, was seriously injured after the car he was in collided with a van on the A595 at Newby Cross on February 23 last year.
His mother, Hayley Murdoch, 29, and great-grandmother Sheila Dixon, 70, sadly died in the incident. Sheila’s husband, Jonah Dixon, 74, was also seriously injured and is now unable to walk unaided.
The tragedy prompted Logan’s nursery, First Steps Day Nursery, where Hayley worked, to raise money for GNAAS, which is funded through public donations.
A total of £4,260 was raised through the National Day Nursery Association, with Little Steps also making a donation to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, where Logan was treated after the crash.
Logan recently visited the GNAAS air base at Langwathby alongside his father, John Murdoch, 32, and grandmother, Karen Rooney, 52. They were reunited with aircrew doctor Laura Duffy, who treated Logan in the immediate aftermath of the incident, and also took the opportunity to hand over the cheque in memory of Hayley and Sheila.
Speaking prior to the visit, Dr Duffy said: “Logan was one of our ‘unexpected survivors.’ That means that statistically, with the injuries he sustained, he was unlikely to survive.”
“From where he was to where he’s come is incredible.”
The incident left Logan fighting for his life. He suffered an internal decapitation, which is a separation of the spinal column from the base of the skull, as well as brain injuries, a punctured lung and a broken collar bone.
He was not breathing when the GNAAS crew arrived at the incident and was resuscitated at the roadside before being put into a medically-induced coma.
Logan was also given blood en route to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle, where he spent two weeks and then more than a week in the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.
Grahame Pickering MBE, GNAAS chief executive, said: “We’d like to thank Logan, his family, and everyone involved in this fundraising. Logan’s recovery is truly miraculous, and we are humbled to have him as one of our supporters.”
To find out how to support GNAAS, please visit www.gnaas.com.
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