A Norfolk woman who has raised over £1,400 for the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) has been reunited with the ambulance crew who saved her life.
Jan, now 88, experienced a life-threatening medical emergency while driving in the early hours of the morning almost a decade ago. She passed out at the wheel, crashing her car into a lamp post, and remained unconscious and unable to get help.
By sheer coincidence, an EEAST crew happened to be driving the same route. Quickly recognising the serious, immediate and life-threatening nature of her condition, they rapidly and safely transported Jan to hospital. There she received life-saving surgery, which later featured in the television programme Hospital.
“My guardian angels were looking down on me that day,” said Jan. “A big thank you to Graham and John for my extra years. If it wasn’t for them, I would not have been able to congratulate my grandchildren and great-grandchild when they graduated from university, and I would not have met my youngest three great-grandchildren.”
Grateful for the help she received, Jan has been fundraising for the East of England Ambulance Service Charity ever since. “I used to play darts, so it started as a dart-a-thon,” she said. “Now I play bowls, so I thought, why not a bowl-a-thon?” In 2018 through to 2019 she raised £1,020 with her dart-a-thon.
This year, together with her bowls club, the Brecks Indoor Bowling Team, she raised £400 for the charity. Jan was recently reunited with the ambulance crew, Graham and John, who saved her life, as they presented her with a certificate of thanks.
Graham, a paramedic at EEAST, said: “I can always remember finding Jan. It’s one of those extraordinary situations that has always stayed with me. It was incredible to be able to help Jan, but with what she has gone on to achieve since, and the help she is giving to others, I’m just proud to be a part of that.”
If you’d like to support the East of England Ambulance Service, you can donate or fundraise at:
www.justgiving.com/charity/eofeambulance
