RAISING £6K FOR RESCUERS
Grateful man’s fundraising ride to thank RNLI saviours
A man “left for dead” after a boat crashed into him while he was riding a jet ski owes his life to his quick-thinking nephew and brave lifeboat volunteers.
Karl Grice was knocked off the vehicle on a boating day in August last year – and was left drifting in and out of consciousness as his lungs filled with water.
Fortunately his teenage nephew Jack Billinge jumped in to the water to bring Karl to the surface after the incident and held his head up while the RNLI rushed to the scene off the coast of Moelfre.
Mr Grice, 43, was falling in and out of consciousness and said the one thing that kept him going was hearing 19-year-old Jack’s voice saying “come on uncle Karl, stay with us”.
When the RNLI arrived they pulled Mr Grice out of the water and swiftly took him to paramedics on the shoreline, who then transferred him to Bangor hospital where he remained in intensive care for almost a week.
Mr Grice’s sister Dawn Booth, 49, told how lucky her brother was to be alive after the horror crash and how thankful her family are to the people who saved him.
She said: “It was August 12 last year and Karl was out on a jet ski on a boating day. We go to Anglesey every weekend.
“A boat crashed into him and he was left for dead in the water.
“Luckily his nephew Jack, who was 18 at the time, reacted amazingly and jumped in to turn him over the right way and hold his head above the water.”
She added: “The RNLI came and pulled him out before he was taken to hospital – we were warned that he might not make it as the salt water had filled his lungs.
“That would have been devastating as I don’t know what we’d have done without him.”
Mr Grice, from Newtonle- Willows in Merseyside, pulled through and is continuing to recover.
To say thanks to the RNLI for saving his life, he is now aiming to raise £6,000 – the approximate cost of launching a lifeboat into the water at a time of emergency.
He has already raised £4,300 through a charity night last month and 16 of his family and friends took part in a cycle ride from Port Sunlight in Wirral to Moelfre on Good Friday.
Mr Grice was in a support vehicle while the ride took place – concluding with the group converging on the RNLI centre where the team that saved Karl are based.
Ms Booth added: “Karl met the men who saved his life recently and they said they were shocked to see him alive.
“It was a very emotional day.”
The team cycled in the orange colours of the lifesaving charity, carrying a bucket to collect donations.
Anyone whishing to donate can do so via their JustGiving page www. justgiving. com/ crowdfunding/karl-grice?utm_ term=EaWDwmzr7