On a March morning in 2019, Jane Jordan and her husband decided to take their dog for a relaxing walk. While driving to their walking spot they were met by a careless driver who risked all their lives.

Jane remembers seeing the truck heading straight towards them on the wrong side of the road before both vehicles collided. It became clear immediately after the crash that Jane’s injuries were severe and her husband feared she had not survived the accident.

The Air Ambulance soon arrived with paramedics Nick Ratcliff and Laura Harris on board, along with Dr Tim Nutbeam and pilot, Pete Martin. They assessed Jane at the scene and airlifted her to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth. Jane’s only memory of the flight is waking briefly to feel pain in her chest. She began to go downhill very quickly, and urgently needed hospital care.

A time-critical situation

When Jane arrived at Derriford it was discovered that she was suffering from a fractured skull, a brain haemorrhage, 12 fractured ribs, a fractured right arm and elbow, fractured vertebrates, and a punctured lung. With her injuries as significant as they were Jane was lucky to have survived the crash.

Jane wrote to DAA expressing her appreciation, explaining:

I am so grateful you were there as my injuries were numerous and, by all accounts, the first few days were a bit touch and go.

However, Jane and her husband, who suffered injuries to his right foot during the incident and has since had to have multiple surgeries, are now both recuperating at home with their dog who was luckily uninjured in the crash. Jane’s recovery has been slow, but she is getting there, and she and her husband are looking forward to putting the accident behind them.

Thank you so much for being there for me, I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been. Thank you for all your care and for calming me down in the Air Ambulance and being such a great team.

Would you like to share a story? Due to patient confidentiality, we don’t know who it is that we attend unless a patient decides to contact us, so we only hear from about 15% of those we serve. If you’re a former patient who has a story you’d like to share, we would love to hear from you. Share Your Story.