Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Without air ambulance I wouldn’t be here..
Quad crash teen thanks team
LAST summer Ellie Mcdonnell’s family were told by doctors to prepare for the worst after the teenager sustained life-threatening injuries in a quad bike accident.
The 15-year-old was on her family’s farm in Portaferry, Co Down, in July when she collided with a jeep driven by her mother at a blind corner on the lane leading to their home.
Ellie was thrown from the quad, crashed into the windscreen of the jeep, and landed in a ditch. Mum Mary ran to her and phoned the emergency services.
The schoolgirl, who had been preparing to represent her country at a showjumping competition in Wales later that month, sustained broken arms, legs, eye sockets, cheeks and teeth and had severe swelling on her brain and had to be placed in an induced coma.
But now just six months later, Ellie is back at school studying for her GCSES and she credits the Air Ambulance NI with saving her life.
She said: “I don’t remember much about that day. All I know is the air ambulance saved my life and without them I wouldn’t be sitting here today.
“I would just like to thank Air Ambulance NI for all that they have done for me.”
Ellie has now started jogging to help build up her strength and can’t wait to get back on a horse soon.
Head of fundraising for Air Ambulance NI Kerry
Anderson added: “We’re so glad to hear Ellie is making such great strides in her recovery and our team was able to provide her with the urgent medical care she needed.
“Air Ambulance NI is a vital service that depends on public donations. It costs £5,500 per day to keep our helicopter in the sky and accidents like this prove how important that is.”
To find out more about the charity, or to make a donation, visit www.airambulanceni.org.