Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crew, not every patient survives. But with your support our Aftercare Team can be there for their families.
Our mission is to end preventable death, disability, or suffering from critical illness or injury. But sometimes, despite our team’s skill and dedication, there are times when not every life can be saved.
At those times, we hope families and loved ones can find comfort in knowing that everything possible was done for those in our care.
But our support doesn’t end when our medical team leaves.
Following many of the incidents we attend, and where people are most seriously affected, our Aftercare Team is there to help fill in the missing gaps and offer ongoing support, guidance and compassion when it is needed.
Emma & Ken's story
Emma Hogan understands just how important this kind of support can be.
In 2022, despite the best efforts of our crew and many other emergency service and healthcare professionals, Emma’s husband, Ken died following a workplace accident. He was just 53 years old.
Emma says that knowing that Devon Air Ambulance did everything it could for Ken, and then for her afterwards, has made a profound difference in how she has been able to cope.
On 28 June four years ago, Emma and Ken spent the morning in their garden at their home near Tiverton. The weather was warm so they sat outside drinking coffee together, looking out over a view they knew well. It was, as Emma recalls, an ordinary morning – the kind shaped by routine, but later that day, Ken, who worked as a tree surgeon, would be involved in an accident at work from which he would not recover.
A day that started like any other
Looking back, Emma remembers that particular morning also marked a small but meaningful change: it was the first day of a new routine; Ken had begun reducing his working hours – something they had both been looking forward to.
“Ken loved his job, but that morning was the first day of the first week when Ken was to cut down on the number of days he was working, so that we could do more things we enjoyed together like coast walks. Ken also loved his motorbikes, and we’d chatted about how it would allow him more time to tinker with his bikes in his new shed.
“Ken had kissed me goodbye and he was just about to leave when he turned around again and said, ‘you look so pretty this morning’, and he came back and gave me another kiss. That memory will stay so special to me.
Ken knew how to love; we would always hold hands. When he was at work and cutting trees, if he found something shaped like a heart, he would cut it out, save it and give it to me. He was very proud to be my husband.
An Irish man, but Devon was in his heart
Ken ran his own business as a tree surgeon and Emma says he was at his happiest when he was outside. He was originally from Ireland, and Emma says his gentle Irish accent, his humour and the time he took with his customers made him popular with everyone he met.
“Ken became a big part of our community. He may have been Irish, but his heart was in Devon.”
Later that day, while Emma was at work, she received a call from a police officer in Tiverton, that would change everything.
“The officer told me that they were coming to get me. They said that Ken had been in an accident at work, and that they needed to get me to him quickly. Soon afterwards the police arrived and drove me to the location where Devon Air Ambulance was waiting to transfer Ken to hospital. The South West Ambulance Service paramedics and Fire Crew were also in attendance there. It had been such a team effort to extract Ken from where he had been wedged between two trees on the ground.
“I learnt that Ken had been preparing to winch two large tree trunks, when one of them had slipped on the dry ground and Ken had been caught between them both.
“When I arrived, Devon Air Ambulance was already there and had got Ken on board the helicopter. They were treating him and were about to transfer him to hospital.
“The Devon Air Ambulance doctor explained to me they thought Ken had been trapped for some time before they’d arrived, and that they were concerned he might go into cardiac arrest, but that thankfully they had got him out in time. The situation was still serious, but thankfully Ken was still alive.
They told me that because of the weather, they would not be able to fly to Derriford Hospital’s major trauma centre in Plymouth and instead they would immediately fly Ken to Southmead major trauma centre in Bristol.
The Devon Air Ambulance team assessed the severity of Ken’s injuries, stabilised him and gave him a pre-hospital anaesthetic – an advanced procedure that they can carry out due to their advanced clinical training.
Once at Southmead Hospital, Ken was transferred from the Emergency Department to the Intensive Care Unit. It was here that he gradually regained consciousness, which meant that he and Emma could speak to one another. Emma explains just how much this time meant to them both.
I am so grateful that we had this time, and that we had the chance to say that we loved each other. Devon Air Ambulance allowed this to happen, and it was so important to me and to Ken.
After many scans, the extent of Ken’s injuries became clear, and a decision was made to transfer Ken to the liver unit at London’s King’s College Hospital.
Ken spent two weeks on this unit and for 36 hours he was on the liver transplant list.
Tragically though, all of Ken’s organs were beginning to fa
Being given the time to say goodbye
On July 12th 2022, Emma had to say goodbye to her husband and soulmate for the final time.
Saying goodbye to Ken felt like my world was ending, but I am so grateful to Devon Air Ambulance for what they did for Ken. Them being there meant Ken and I had that extra time together. Devon Air Ambulance give you hope and they are the ones that let you say goodbye to your loved ones and tell them that you love them.
But Emma says caring for Ken wasn’t where the support from Devon Air Ambulance ended.
“Both at the time and afterwards, Devon Air Ambulance and Devon and Cornwall Police regularly checked in with me and this support was invaluable emotionally and practically.
“Emotionally I was broken but I also had practical worries. Ken didn’t have a power of attorney in place, and I was seriously worried how I would pay our bills.
“But to my surprise, Devon Air Ambulance stepped in again and guided me on where I could get free legal and financial advice.”
Our Aftercare team put Emma in touch with the firm of solicitors, ‘Stewarts Law’ who advised Emma on what she could do, regarding putting financial measures in place.
That support, Emma says, helped reduce some fear, freeing up her mind to grieve for her husband.
I look back at that time now and there is so much you are scared of. Everything is traumatic and you are in so much shock, so alone. Devon Air Ambulance’s Aftercare service helped take some of the pressure off me. It was an incredible resource.
After Ken’s death, Emma knew she wanted to try and pay back Devon Air Ambulance, knowing that is also what Ken would have wanted.
At Ken’s funeral they raised nearly £3,000 for DAAT, which by the end of the year had reached £4,200 on the Just Giving page. Then in 2025, on the anniversary of Ken’s death Emma and Ken’s friends raised a further £500.
Emma says while it is always incredible to hear of the many lives saved, stories like Ken’s are also important.
I think people need to hear stories about the patients who do not survive, because our stories are important. Dreadful things do happen and people do die but Devon Air Ambulance is there for you too, not just at the time of the incident but also afterwards. This charity gave me and my husband the chance to tell each other we loved each other for the last time and that, to me, is worth everything.
“I know that Ken had the most incredible care and that Devon Air Ambulance did everything they could for him, and their ongoing support helped get me through those initial terrifying months.”
From the moment we’re called to an incident, to the days, weeks, and months that follow, we’re here when we’re needed – for our patients and their families. And that’s thanks to the support of everyone who takes time to raise funds for us, who donates, plays our lottery, volunteers with us, or remembers us in their Will. As a charity that is independent of government funding we are grateful for every gesture of support.
If you support our work already: thank you. Your help means families like Emma’s can access the aftercare they need at the most difficult time. If you would like to support our work, there are many ways to get involved. In particular, a regular gift helps us to plan for the future and extend our support for families like Emma’s.
