A Pudsey man whose leg was saved by the Wales Air Ambulance has thrown his weight behind a fundraising spring raffle to support the organisation.
Richard Hunt was visiting Wales for a friend’s birthday when an enjoyable day at Dyfi Bike Park soon took a dramatic turn for the worse.
On 23 March 2024 Richard, an experienced mountain biker, was enjoying his time in Wales when what appeared to be a ‘simple fall’ resulted in catastrophic injuries.
A call for help was made to 999 and sparked the interest of the EMRTS Critical Care Practitioner working on the Critical Care Hub.
The Critical Care Hub is a vital part of the Wales Air Ambulance and EMRTS service. 24 hours a day, every 999 call is monitored by a critical care practitioner and allocator, to identify where critical care interventions will be required.
When the road ambulance arrived Richard was lying on the mountain track awake and in extreme pain.
Due to the severity of his injuries, the Wales Air Ambulance were dispatched from their base in Welshpool. The crew on board were Critical Care Practitioners Carl Hudson and Mike Ainslie.
Richard said: “Despite it being a simple fall, the force of the accident resulted in my femur being ‘blown out’ of my knee and my leg was left at a 90-degree angle. This reduced blood flow to my leg, and I had a weak pulse in my foot. There was a risk that I could potentially lose my leg.”
Wales Air Ambulance is on standby to attend those suffering a life or limb-threatening injury or illness.
He continued: “The air ambulance arrived, and it was at that point I realised that it wasn’t a simple break or fix.
“They gave me strong medication, including antibiotics to prevent a wound infection. I was also sedated before they positioned my leg straight and placed it into a splint – improving the blood flow and pulse in my foot.
“Without the care of the Wales Air Ambulance I could have lost my leg or even worse.”
The treatments Richard received would usually only be available within a hospital setting, but thanks to the advanced medics and equipment on board Wales Air Ambulance he received them at the bike park.
Once stable, Richard was flown directly to the Major Trauma Centre in Stoke where he underwent two operations and spent ten days in hospital recovering.
The 40-year-old went on to receive support from the Charity’s Aftercare Service and was introduced to Patient Liaison Nurse, Hayley Whitehead-Wright, whose role is to support patients and their families after what is usually a life-altering and sudden traumatic event.
Richard said: “After returning home, the Wales Air Ambulance Aftercare Service contacted me – a service I didn’t know existed. Hayley, the Patient Liaison Nurse, was so kind and went through what happened with me. But she’s not just helped me, she’s helped my family come to terms with what happened and has offered support to my friend who was with me that day.”
Following Richard’s remarkable recovery, he is encouraging people to support this year’s Spring Raffle in aid of the lifesaving charity which helped save his life.
Tickets, which are £1 each, are available now with the closing date for postal entries being 9 May 2025 and online entries on 20 May 2025.
Tickets are available from the Charity’s shops, fundraising representatives and online. The draw will take place on Friday, 23 May and one lucky winner will win £3,000, with a second prize of £500 and third prize of £300.
A grateful Richard said: “Thank you will never be enough to the Wales Air Ambulance. I’m not from Wales, but to know the service is there in Wales, to call upon if needed is incredible, and I will forever be grateful to you for supporting this Charity.
“The Wales Air Ambulance Spring Raffle has the power to change lives, and whilst I hope you never need them, you never know what route life is going to take.”
Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and, if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury. It is delivered via a unique Third Sector and Public Sector partnership. The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the Charity’s vehicles.
More details about the raffle can be found here.
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