John Wilson, 70, originally from Bolton, Appleby, needed the assistance of the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) in October 2009 after falling from his roof while attempting to repair his chimney.
He said: “My first wife was seven months into recovery from open heart surgery and advised me strongly not to attempt our chimney reconstruction because of the frost and she had a bad feeling about the day.”
John Wilson, 70, needed the assistance of the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) in October 2009 (Image: Supplied) Mr Wilson reassured his wife he would be safe, but the locking pin failed as he moved from his converted stepladder to his roof ladder, causing him to fall approximately eight feet.
Recalling the incident, he said: “Suddenly I was standing on air alone, almost in slow motion, I fell backwards to the ground landing on the corner of a concrete step.
“I found it hard to breathe, so struggled up and made my way indoors.
“My wife said that she was going to get help; I said that I’d be ok once I could get my breath back but I soon started to feel pain, so she called for an ambulance.”
It was suspected that Mr Wilson had broken bones and possibly injured his back, so the critical care team from GNAAS was requested to assist the North West Ambulance Service.
The GNAAS aircraft arrived in a field near Mr Wilson’s bungalow, and the team worked alongside NWAS paramedics to treat him at his home, before airlifting him to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle for further treatment.
He said: “They were brilliant.
“I had already received some gas-based pain relief and they had to carefully straighten me out and place me on a backboard type stretcher.
“I felt so stupid to have not listened to my wife’s advice as I was carried out to the waiting helicopter.
“I’ll never forget the skills of the pilot when he landed at the Cumberland Infirmary.
“As I later found out, I had five broken ribs, a broken shoulder blade and a punctured lung, yet never felt any bump at all as we landed.”
After several scans and x-rays, and intravenous pain relief, Mr Wilson was discharged after six days and continued to recover at home for a few months.
He said: “It’s very ironic that I spent the best part of my working life in the fire service, sometimes being 100 feet above the ground without grief, yet I fell eight feet at home and broke so much.”
Since his incident, Mr Wilson has been donating to GNAAS on a monthly basis.
He increased his monthly payments in 2020, when the charity was affected by the lockdown restrictions which were imposed after the outbreak of COVID-19.
He said: “I wanted to give something back to show my appreciation for all that GNAAS did.
“We weren’t too well off, so I set up a regular donation each month and once I started to receive my state pension, I increased my donation.
“I’ll never be able to fully repay their efforts, but every little helps.”
His stepson Martyn Lee, 56, also required the help of his local air ambulance service following a motorcycle collision in 2016, and while thankfully he survived, he was left with life-changing injuries.
Martyn Lee, Mr Wilson’s stepson, also required the help of his local air ambulance service following a motorcycle collision in 2016 (Image: Supplied) Mr Wilson said: “He was riding to work on 12 October 2016, when a car driver did a U-turn in front of him.
“The accident trashed the car and his bike.
“He had both wrists broken, his pelvis also and a nasty cut to one of his legs.
“Initially the police thought that he’d died.”
Martyn Lee being airlifted by KSS air ambulance (Image: Supplied) His stepfather Mr Wilson began supporting the charity with a monthly donation, in addition to the donation he gives to GNAAS.
He said: “I’d ask anyone that can, to consider a regular donation to their local air ambulance, none of us plan to need to use it, but when the need arises, it’s a brilliant service.”
To find out more about supporting GNAAS, visit gnaas.com or call 01325 487263.
