At the start of August 2020, I suffered life threatening injuries after crashing with another rider whilst racing motocross at Hawkstone Park.  The accident left me with a grade 5 liver laceration from my handlebars, which in turn caused serious internal bleeding.  After being looked after by the medical team at the track, the decision to call the air ambulance was made.  A team of critical care practitioners from HM59 (Welsh Air Ambulance) arrived and resumed care.  A second air ambulance then arrived not long after (HM06, Midlands Air Ambulance) with more blood onboard.  Between crashing and getting to the hospital, I was given 10 units of blood (an average male of my size and weight only has around 9 units in their body) to keep me alive.  Without one or the other of these helicopters, and of course the blood which was donated, it could have been a different story for which I’m very grateful.

After waking up from an induced coma with a fresh load of blood and a nice scar, my first thought was how lucky we are in the UK to have the NHS and of course the Air Ambulance services.  The ward I was in was right next to the helipad at Royal Stoke University Hospital, and I was amazed at how many helicopters were arriving most days.  Unfortunately after riding bikes for most of my life, I’ve seen a fair few air ambulances at tracks all around the country tending to various injuries.  This is why I’ve decided to try and raise some money for a charity which equally splits the funds raised between all 21 of the different air ambulance charities.

On average, each air ambulance costs £2,500 each time it’s called out, which is roughly £175,000 per day and over £60m a year nationally - all of which is charity funded.

So with a group of equally thankful mates, I've planned to hike the 3 peaks (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon) whilst relying on pedal power to travel between them - which totals just under 500 miles of cycling, 3000m of climbing, and to complete this challenge in 5 days.  We set off on the 15th May!

We would be very grateful for any donations made, big or small, for what we think is a great and well-needed cause.  I am of course also very appreciative of the blood I received, and would encourage anybody who is able to donate blood to do so if possible.  I for one never thought I would need blood in such circumstances, and it has really opened my eyes in the importance of giving blood - it undoubtedly saved my life as well as thousands of others every day.

Thanks for reading my story,

Drogie