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Paul & Emily Gorton & Matthew Pridham will be running the Manchester 10k in order to raise money for the North West Air Ambulance Charity.

Our reason for running the charity is:

This is a little story about the birth of my son Harry.  On 3rd of Feb 2012 it started like any other day, my wife Emily was pregnant and due to give birth.  Once Emily went into labour we arrived at hospital and we were both relaxed and looking forward to Harry's arrival.  Whilst the midwife was undergoing the normal checks of both mother and baby they realised that something was wrong.  Harry's heartbeat had dropped.  All our calm and tranquillity quickly vanished as a team of doctors and nurses came crashing in and rushed Emily off to have an emergency caesarean.  It turned out that Harry was suffering from Severe  Meconium Aspiration and needed treatment immediately. After numerous attempts with different types of ventilation Harry was still unresponsive. We were advised that Harry was seriously ill and the consultant advised us that his only chance was a relatively new treatment called ECMO but it could only be done at 4 hospitals.  We agreed and within a very short space of time an Air Ambulance arrived and flew Harry to Glenfield Hospital in Leicestershire where he received the treatment he so desperately needed. 

Harry is now just over 2 years old, he is bright, lively and a typical toddler, although he can be a handful he truly is a blessing to have and without the work of the Air Ambulance and their quick response we would not have Harry in our lives now. 

We are just a typical, ordinary family who believed that things like this would never happen to us, but it did and we were very lucky that we had the support of everyone involved to pull us through,  we cannot thank them enough. 

About the Charity:

The North West Air Ambulance is a charity which has been flying life-saving missions throughout the North West region since 1999.

With two helicopters flying seven days a week, 365 days a year from our bases at Royal Preston Hospital and University Hospital of South Manchester, Wythenshawe, we cover 5,500 square miles and a population of around eight million people. On average the North West Air Ambulance is called out five times a day, rising up to ten in the summer. It costs in excess of £4.2 million per year to maintain both aircraft, but with almost no central government or lottery funding, we rely on the generosity of our supporters.

Because we can avoid problems of distance and congestion, we’re never further than 10 minutes to the nearest hospital in the region, whether flying from the North West’s remote countryside, busy motorways or city centres.

This means that patients involved in major trauma, especially with head or spinal injuries, can receive medical treatment quickly before being transferred to a specialist hospital in record time. By receiving treatment at the scene by highly qualified paramedics using sophisticated equipment and arriving at hospital within the ‘Golden Hour’, the patient’s chances of survival and speed of recovery are dramatically improved.

We also operate urgent hospital transfers for critically ill or injured patients, particularly those needing to travel long distances for emergency surgery, and those with spinal injuries.