COLUMN: County back Air Ambulance appeal

Air Ambulance Week has just ended and staff at air ambulance HQ are still counting the donations collected in Derbyshire.'¨Once again people across the county have given generously to keep the lifesaving helicopters operated by Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance flying and we would like to thank every one of you for your support.

As a charity we receive no government funding and with each mission we fly costing £1,700, we rely totally on public donations to stay operational. In the last month our helicopter has attended 47 incidents in Derbyshire alone.

As well as being a busy time for staff, our volunteers and supporters were working hard during Air Ambulance Week by donning yellow hats and tabards and going into local town centres to raise money and awareness for us. Unsurprisingly, some of our strongest supporters are our former patients. Patients like Dave McKenzie. Dave – a Derbyshire mechanic – was one of the faces of our Air Ambulance Week, doing everything he could to lend us support.

What began as a normal morning for Dave left him fighting for his life with terrifying injuries. He had been at work at his garage when an inspection ramp collapsed. The car he’d been working on fell on top of him, leaving him with multiple devastating injuries including a broken pelvis, broken ribs and punctured lungs. Our helicopter was on the scene within minutes. Dave was assessed, stabilised, and airlifted to hospital.

Now, two years on, Dave is back to his old self again and supporting the appeal.  To volunteer or donate visit: theairambulanceservice.org.uk or call on 08454 130999.