Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance: Josh’s Story
When 25–year–old Joshua Marriott woke up in Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre, one thing he knew was that he had to get out of bed.
And despite a broken back and six days in a coma, he did just that.
“I told them I had a baby on the way and I had a business to run so they had me sat up the day I woke up,” he said.
“They couldn’t believe how quickly I was recovering.”
Joshua’s back was broken in several places after his motorcycle was in collision with a car on 24 June, 2020. Also broken were two bones in his neck, both wrists, four ribs and he had
suffered internal bleeding from a ruptured spleen.
All he remembers at the scene in Skellingthorpe, Lincoln, is the emergency services and the arrival of the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance (LNAA) which had taken four minutes to get to Joshua from its base at RAF Waddington.
“I don’t remember much but I remember the Air Ambulance crew and them being really, really good,” said Joshua.
“Me and my family are into aviation and my step–dad tracked the helicopter flight and the speed they got me to hospital was incredible – it took 13 minutes.
If it wasn’t for the air ambulance I wouldn’t be here today.”
Joshua and his partner Chelsea welcomed their son Lorenzo to the world on 16th July, the same day Joshua turned 25–years–old, and just a few days after his release from hospital. It wasn’t until around two weeks later that Joshua was able to pick his baby son up.
“I had to relearn to walk because there’s so much metal in my back and because my wrists were broken I couldn’t hold him. It was really hard but Chelsea has been so supportive and helped me through it all.
“It’s been hard but the experience of the generosity of people and the care I had from the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance along with those at QMC has been unreal. I can’t even describe how thankful I am to be honest.”
Joshua is now fundraising because he wants to pay LNAA back for the cost of the flight.
He said: “As soon as we came out of hospital, me and my family said we want to pay it back. It was my birthday not long after so I set it up as a Facebook fundraiser which raised over £800.”
Our HEMS Paramedic, Matt Burns, remembers arriving at the scene of Joshua’s crash.
“We were made aware of Joshua’s situation by an EMAS paramedic responding at the scene.
“We were able to land in a field right next to the scene of the collision which had caused Joshua to be thrown off the bike and into a ditch about 20m away,” he said.
“We treated Joshua with some strong painkillers, anti–sickness medications as well as a drug to help stop his suspected internal bleeding. We splinted his fractured wrists and his pelvis and transferred him to the helicopter. Due to the severity of the suspected injuries Joshua had sustained, we took him to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham and handed him over to a major trauma team.
“We found out afterwards that Joshua had undergone an operation on his spleen and spinal surgery so I’m really pleased to hear that his recovery is going well. It’s always great to hear from a patient.”
Three years on from the accident Josh is now a valued volunteer at LNAA, helping out in a variety of ways, from giving an emotional speech at the opening of the new HQ through to assisting with the weekly tyres, brakes and oil checks on the critical care cars. “This is how I can pay back for what the crew did that day. They saved my life and have given me the chance to watch my son grow up.”
“I will be eternally grateful to the LNAA and this is why I am going to leave them a gift in my Will. In this small way I am playing my part in making sure they continue to receive the donations they need to continue their life–saving work.
