A Co Tyrone bricklayer who fell 20 feet from a two-storey building has spoke of his gratitude for the life-saving intervention he received from the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance.
Peter Quinn from Ardboe was working at a building in Moortown in July last year when he plummeted to the ground below.
His work colleagues at the building site phoned emergency services and Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) was dispatched by air ambulance alongside the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.
When the air ambulance helicopter touched down in a field across from the building site, it was feared Peter had sustained a serious spinal injury. The HEMS team assessed and treated him at the scene before carefully stabilising him and loading him onto the helicopter.
The flight from Moortown, on the western shores of Lough Neagh, to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast took just nine minutes, a fraction of the time it would have taken by road.
But for Peter, the journey is a complete blank.
“I don’t remember the fall, the helicopter, or anything at all,” he said.
“The only thing I briefly recall is being lifted from one stretcher to another on the Royal Victoria Hospital helipad.”
Arriving at hospital, the trauma team found Peter had sustained a fracture to his L1 vertebra in his lower back. He spent a week in hospital before being discharged with a body cast, which he wore for the next three months.
Thankfully he did not suffer any permanent damage to his spinal cord.
He told of how with the support of family, friends and the community, he made steady progress and is now back on his feet and returned to work.
Peter also spoke of his gratitude to the Air Ambulance NI and the HEMS team who came to his assistance following the fall.
Grateful for the life-saving intervention of the air ambulance, Peter and his family and friends carried out a fundraising event, which saw £10,545 raised for the charity.
“I would like to thank everyone who helped me on the day I fell,” he said.
“I would also like to thank my family and friends that helped me organise the fundraiser especially Madoch, Ciaran, Donal, Connor, Charlie and Jude.
“I am also grateful to the business sponsors and to everyone who gave so generously.”
Damien McAnespie, fundraising manager for Air Ambulance NI, said: “The day of Peter’s accident (22nd July 2024) was the seventh anniversary of the service and it is a reminder how vital the air ambulance is to everyone and how a quick response, matched with clinical care interventions carried out on the scene, can make a real difference.
“Peter’s family, friends and the entire community of Ardboe and Moortown then raised a huge amount of money as a sign of their appreciation and we are very indebted to them for their support.
“Their donation of £10,545 will fund the service for over one day, potentially helping to save the life, brain or limb of another two individuals in the region - individuals like Peter who was out doing his day’s work and who never expected he would need the service.”
