I have been speaking to a lovely lady called Philippa, who is the patient liaison manager for London’s Air Ambulance. She arranged for me and Ryan to visit the helipad to meet everyone and take photos! It was of course the windiest day of my life, so I enjoyed controlling my Medusa hair all day…
It was absolutely amazing (and totally humbling) to meet people who dedicate their whole lives to saving others. It was also quite bizarre going back somewhere I’d previously spent over a month of my life, but I have zero memories of. I guess I’ve never really thought about how difficult it is to fly a helicopter across one of the biggest cities in the world, and to then land it safely. I didn’t even know the helicopter doesn’t fly at night (it would be too difficult to land), so they have rapid response road ambulances too. It made me realise how easy it is to not even consider these things at all… The air ambulance flies 24/7 in all conditions… oh wait, no it literally can’t do that. If it had been too windy on the day of my accident, or there was nowhere safe to land etc etc etc then it could’ve all ended so differently.
Going right back to the hospital where my journey first began felt like I had come full circle. Lots of people apparently get very emotional when going back to the helipad, but I don’t remember one single moment of ever being in the Royal London hospital at all. I feel like I’d be a bit of a fraud if I started bawling over a day I’ll never remember…
Whilst my bookis about my traumatic brain injury and my rehabilitation, visiting the LAA helipad was so meaningful. Without their initial help mere minutes after my accident, I know I would not be sitting here writing this post at all.
I thought it would be downright rude for the LAA to spend their valuable time saving my life, for me to then do nothing in return. Although I’m not religious, I do believe in fate and everything happening for a reason. The LAA saved my life for a purpose: it was now my duty to try and write my way through, around, inside and out of the labyrinth of brain injury recovery.
Read more about the work of London’s Air Ambulance in 2018 here
