‘We try to keep going but it's hard to accept he’s never coming back’
The daughter of a man who died after falling from a roof has spoken about her family’s heartache.
Alan Young, from Haswell, in East Durham, had been taking an aerial down from his house when it is believed he slipped and fell from the ladder in September.
The retired electrician, 62, had been doing DIY around the house with his wife Christine, 60, when she heard him fall and ran out into the street calling for help.
Despite being rushed to hospital by the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), Mr Young died the next day.
The couple’s daughter, Lauren, 27, has now said: “My dad was so friendly, he was liked by everyone and was super helpful. He gave everyone a hand whenever they needed it.”
Miss Young was at the hairdressers when she got the call to tell her about the accident.
She said: “I knew then in my gut it was bad. I had dye on my roots at the time, so I quickly got the hairdresser to wash it off and drove the five-minute journey home. When I got there, the ambulance crew was taking over
CPR from one of the neighbours.”
Mr Young was placed in an induced coma before he was flown to Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital.
Miss Young added: “It only took GNAAS seven minutes to get there. We heard the helicopter coming and knew that, if they were coming, then dad had the best chance and was in the best care.
“I tried to tell myself in the car on the way to the hospital that everything was going to be OK.
"My mam said she already knew how things were going to turn out in her heart and was preparing for the worst.
“I just hoped we would get there in time.”
A day after Mr Young’s accident, the family were told the extent of his head injuries and how slim his chances of survival were.
The family said their goodbyes and Mr Young donated two of his organs before his ventilator was turned off.
Miss Young said: “It was so hard to go home, we didn’t know what to do with ourselves.
"The dog is missing him so much and has refused to go for a walk with anyone else for days.
“We are just trying to keep going. We have to because he wouldn’t want us moping around all day but it is so hard to accept he is never coming back.”
The Great North Air Ambulance service provides emergency medical cover in the North East, Cumbria and North Yorkshire – entirely funded by charitable donations.
Its helicopters carry all the equipment needed to perform some of the most advanced medical procedures available.
Last year, the service dealt with 1,262 emergencies and it cost £5.3m to keep the aircraft operational.
Supporters can make a dedication to their loved ones online by sharing stories, pictures, thoughts and memories and can also add an optional donation.
To make a dedication, go online to gnaas.memorypage.org/light-up-the-sky