13th September 2018 when my life as I knew it changed for ever.

I was driving to work around 7.30am. Beautiful morning, driving down a hill and a lorry was coming the other direction, a car decided to overtake the lorry from behind it and crashed head-on into me. A guardian angel was looking after me that day which enabled me to be writing to you now.

The initial impact unbeknownst to me had severed my spinal cord at T6 level and two of my vertebrae were ripped away from each other. This was a blessing as I couldn’t feel any pain below my chest. I had multiple open fractures to my left leg and had a major bleed from the artery in the leg. I broke all my ribs, collar bone, sternum and punctured both lungs with the right lung bleeding into my chest cavity which collapsed my lung, I also had what they called a flailed chest which means a section of my rib cage had detached from the main cage exposing my lung. My heart and kidney had suffered severe bruising in the collision. 

After the initial impact I hadn’t realised the extent of my injuries at first, then when had a struggle with breathing, I knew I was dying and thought I can’t leave this planet without saying goodbye. I retrieved my mobile phone and left a message for my wife and son saying goodbye. A young lady came and sat with me and I asked her to pass on the message to my loved ones, she insisted I tell them myself. That was my last thoughts has I drifted towards the light.

My car (well actually it was my wife’s car which I often used) was fitted with on-star technology which alerted the emergency services giving my GPS coordinates. My accident was in a rural location and I believed at the time they wouldn’t reach me before I passed away. The emergency call handler contacted the air ambulance too, though they don’t normally fly until after 8am, though on this day, the crew had started early. They drove over from the base in Teesside Airport and then requested the helicopter from Langwathby in Cumbria. Amongst all the emergency services at the scene I had two of the top trauma consultants looking after me. It took an hour and half to release me from the car and get me into the helicopter.  I was totally unaware of this as I had been placed in an induced coma.  I was then airlifted to James Cook Regional Trauma Centre in Middlesbrough. 

On this day my wife had a hospital appointment and I had asked if she wanted me to go with her, she declined and was on the way to this appointment at about 8.45am. Upon the start of the journey she heard the travel report mentioning the road closure on the route I take to work, she thought it was strange I hadn’t mentioned it to her. She pulled over to check where I was. We have find my friends app on our phones so we know where we all are when travelling. It showed that I was at the point of the accident. My wife started panicking and rang me. The police answered my phone and advised my wife to go to the nearest doctors surgery and they will meet her there. The police picked my wife up from the surgery and then my son from work and blue lighted them the 45 minute journey to the hospital.

 My wife informed both sides of the family, majority of the family (very large) were there within three hours from across all parts of the country to offer support.

Upon arrival at the hospital I had CT scans and then went straight down to the operating theatre. I had my left leg closed back together and the bleeding stemmed. My family was informed that they wouldn’t know the extent of my injuries until after 3 days when the bruising had settled but they should prepare for the worst. I was placed on a ventilator to aid my breathing and classed as very unstable, they couldn’t move me due to the extent of damage to my ribs. Six days later I had major surgery on my back and two titanium rods inserted. I nearly died on several occasions during this surgery due to my lungs and blood pressure. 

My body started to give in and I contracted full blown sepsis which in turn caused major multi organ failure which included my skin breaking down. I developed a grade 4 bed sore on myback, the worst case they had seen when I eventually moved to HDU (high dependency unit). I was at this point in ITU (intensive care unit) which I spent three months, mostly unaware what was going on in the real world. After a month, the left leg was beyond saving and it was amputated above the knee. A month later I had to have the same procedure on the right leg and it was amputated above the knee. Due to my spinal injury, my family were informed that I wouldn’t be able to walk again, but I wasn’t out of the woods. My kidneys stopped working and I went on to dialysis, this was also life threatening as I had developed blood clots throughout my body and the dialysis procedure threatened to dislodge these which would kill me outright. My stomach stopped working and I developed  sepsis again as my body was reacting to infections. In this time I also contracted a fungal  infection which went on to my liver and spleen along with my eyes which could of resulted in blindness. I spent three months in ITU before I moved to HDU. The doctors within the ICU were absolutely amazing keeping me alive on a minute by minute basis. 

My time in ITU was horrific, I had no understanding of what was real or in my imagination. I suffered from delirium, which is having deluded memories reacting from the high doses of sedation and medication. These memories  will stay with me for life. I have managed to record most of them to publish in support of understanding this occurrence for others.

The staples that held my flesh together on the right stump had broken free and I was left with a large open wound, which at the time the medical team thought  would require plastic surgery. I was given negative pressure therapy by means of a vacuum dressing and it healed over really well in the next few months. 

I spent 6 months on a ventilator and from this point mostly breathed unaided. Due to my spinal injury the lower part of lungs fall in my paralysed area, so this requires intervention twice per day and support through the night, for the rest of my life.

My bedsore has been the crux in my recovery. It was still classed as a life threatening sore due to the sheer size and depth of it. I then developed two more grade 4 pressure sores on my bottom cheeks whilst in the Spinal Unit. My consultant estimated a two year recovery and the probability of never sitting up again. That was January 2019. The mind is a powerful thing and we still do not know it’s full potential. I was told that I would need surgery on my right stump because of the open wound. I had never had surgery before my accident and dreaded the thought at this point of having one. Miraculously my wound healed itself. My body had developed rapid healing capabilities, not only my leg wound, but my bedsore started making rapid progression. 

My wife had me on a high protein diet to help with the healing of the sores. She even bought a fridge for my bedside to keep all my food in. I then contracted a strong strain of influenza and they threatened to place me back in ITU, I said I’m not going there again so I’ll heal myself. At that point I was on maximum care and scaring everyone. I closed my eyes and overnight I brought my oxygen up to a safe level. The mind is great.

I left hospital after 13 months to go to a Rehabilitation Care Home. During that time I remained on bed rest and also developed sepsis again which put me back in hospital for a month. I had returned back to the care home only to contract Covid 19 along with my wife. We were very poorly with this but managed to stay out of hospital. Finally after 7 months in the care home and 13 months in hospital I was allowed to be discharged to my temporary home in May 2020. However after 6 days of being at home  I contracted sepsis again and spent a further week in hospital. I returned home and have been here since. 

I am now on the last stage of my bedsores healing after 23 months and once fully healed I can then get in to a wheelchair and have freedom again. Life is going to be about exploring new things and living all over again. I have had to learn to talk, feed myself and become a real expert in my own care.

From all of this, I have had a smile on my face and a positive attitude. I have met some truly inspirational people which in turn find me inspiring.

I should have died, but have truly been given a second chance. We all seem to forget how fragile life really is.

I owe my life to the expertise of the Great North Air Ambulance crew and I am now in a position to be able to give back to them.  So I have decided to create ‘Nick’s Last Steps 💯Challenge ‘. This in itself represents the 100% care, compassion and professionalism that the GNAAS gave to me. As I am still in bed I am only able to use an over the bed handcycle to complete my challenge. I have chosen to complete 100 miles and my wife will be completing 100 miles on the exercise bike. 

During the month of August I challenge you to complete your own ‘Nick’s Last Steps 💯Challenge. It does not need to be exercise based it could be baking 100 cakes, knitting 100 GNAAS teddies etc. ( All within social distancing rules) Let’s all get together to raise much needed money for this amazing charity as you never know if you or your family might need their service. 

Let’s aim for the target of £100,000 for ‘Nick’s Last Steps 💯 Challenge.’

Come on people let’s make GNAAS proud. 

In the words of GNAAS........,

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) rescues hundreds of severely injured or ill patients every year throughout the North East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria. Their doctor-led critical care teams deliver life-saving treatments at the scene of the incident whether that is on a fell top, a roadside or in a city centre. The charity responded to 1,640 call outs last year* alone, via their helicopter and emergency response vehicles, where they performed treatments and procedures which can mean the difference between life and death.