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- Malcolm and the crowbar at the scene of his incident
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- Malcolm in the Magpas Air Ambulance
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- The crowbar next to a ruler for scale
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- A healed Malcolm with Magpas Dr Saad at the Magpas Operations Base
These days, Malcolm Arnold from March in Cambridgeshire describes himself as an extremely fortunate man. A year ago last Friday (31st May 2017), he was kindly helping a friend to renovate his shed, when the unthinkable happened.
Malcolm, who’s in his early 50’s and very practical by nature, was on the roof of the garden outhouse when it accidentally came loose. “I can remember the corrugated cover moving and me trying to hold on” he explains. However, despite Malcolm’s desperate attempts to cling on, he slipped eight feet and fell to the ground. When he tried to get up and couldn’t, he realised he was in shock and that he’d literally fallen onto a one metre long crow bar – leaving him with serious injuries to his stomach (and his bowel perforated in 3x places).
Due to the severity of Malcolm’s injuries, the EEAST Ambulance Service Paramedic Crew at the scene of the incident (alongside Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Service), requested the specialist skills of Magpas Air Ambulance. The charity’s Doctor Saad Jawaid, Paramedic Andy Smith and Paramedic Dan Cody flew straight to Malcolm. They gave him enhanced pain relief and sedated him (providing A&E level care there and then), before then flying him to Addenbrooke’s safely and quickly.
Malcolm has since made an excellent recovery, he returned to work four months later. He says, “I will never forget what Magpas Air Ambulance did for me. I’ll always be grateful to the incredible team who came to my rescue that day.”
He goes on to describe his inspirational reaction to the whole horrific experience last year, “I don’t worry about the little things in life as much as I used to. I believe you’ve just got to get on, whilst you can.”
After meeting Malcolm at the charity’s operations base, Magpas Air Ambulance Dr Saad Jawaid said, “It’s fantastic to see Malcolm looking so well. He is a very brave man and a prime example of why Magpas Air Ambulance is here, bringing our specialist knowledge and skills, by land and air, to patients in life-threatening emergencies in Cambridgeshire, across the East of England and beyond. It’s because of our doctor and paramedic team that we were able to fly to Malcolm that day and provide him with the hospital care he needed as soon as possible. We are not a state funded service and can only do what we do thanks to the generous support from the local communities within which we serve.”
Malcolm has even kept the crow bar as a stark reminder of the day when everything changed for him and a crucial lifesaving charity flew to his aid.
We were only able to fly to Malcolm and provide urgent lifesaving care thanks to YOUR donations. If you would like to help us help more people like Malcolm in future, please donate today. With you, we save lives.
