Kai Clark suffered the attack at his home in Clacton in October 2011. He stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating.   His mother, Kelly, who was looking after Kai at the time, said she feared for the worst until paramedics and the air ambulance arrived.

Without the expertise and teamwork between the medical crews and the rapid transfer to a specialist hospital, doctors said Kai would almost certainly not have survived.

Mrs Clark said: “I was trying to resuscitate him myself but I feared it was too late. It was the most frightening experience you can go through as a parent.  They arrived so quickly and it was an enormous relief. He still has some medical complications, and it has been a hard process to get to this point, but to see him walking and smiling again is amazing.”

The family have since visited Cambridge Airport, where the East Anglian Air Ambulance helicopter Anglia Two is based.  It provided an opportunity to say thank-you to the helicopter crews and the East of England Ambulance Trust. Land ambulance crews were first on the scene and they succeeded in resuscitating Kai.

He was then flown by the air ambulance directly to intensive care at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. He was later transferred to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital – but was home in time for Christmas.

'Air ambulance was invaluable'

Dr Richard Lyon, who attended the incident with paramedic Jemma Varela, said: “It is difficult to define the moment a person is dead, but he wasn’t breathing and his heart stopped so, to all intents and purposes, he was dead.

“It is fantastic to see Kai doing so well now.  After his heart stopped, Kai’s mum, the 999 call-taker and local ambulance crew were all outstanding in performing first-class resuscitation in a frightening, life-threatening situation.

“This ensured Kai’s brain received oxygen and his heart was started within a short time.

“The air ambulance was invaluable as we were able to provide rapid intensive care to Kai, including cooling his body to protect his brain, ensuring we gave him the best possible chance of surviving without lasting disability.”

Kai’s father, Philip Clark, has now left his job as a courier to act as a carer for his son.  The couple have two other children, three-week-old Caitlin, and nine-year-old Joshua.

Mr Clark said: “With Caitlin being born and Kai still recovering, it’s been a busy and difficult time. But it was great to all be together for Christmas and now we can look forward to the future as a family.”

Alison Horsley, EAAA Area Fundraising Manager, said:  “It’s occasions like this that make the hard work of so many in our region to raise funds for the EAAA worthwhile.  The highly skilled medical teams aboard our aircraft and the speed at which they can move around the region can make a huge difference to a patient in a life-threatening situation.  We work in close partnership with the East of England NHS Ambulance Trust crews and I know they are all delighted to be here today to see Kai with his family.”

Tom suffered multiple injuries in the accident including a ruptured spleen - which had his treatment not been as swift as it was, thanks to the air ambulance, the internal bleeding it caused could have cost him his life.

Tom also suffered serious head injuries and after his initial treatment at Ipswich hospital he spent two weeks in a coma at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.  When he was eventually allowed out of intensive care he returned to Ipswich for a further eight weeks.

Since his recovery Tom has supported the East Anglian Air Ambulance charity and attended some of our events - recently meeting for the first time one of the paramedics who was involved in his airlift.

Tom has put together a short film about his accident and recovery and has kindly allowed us to use it on this site (below.)    

Ten-year-old Aaron was out playing with friends on his bike when he was involved in a road accident.  He suffered a very severe head injury which left him unconscious and with a fractured skull.  A passer-by called the emergency services and a friend of the family rang Aaron’s dad, David, who was at their home a short distance away.

David said:  “I went straight there and saw Aaron lying in the road unconscious.  A doctor was already there, then the air ambulance arrived and the crew were fantastic.  They took over as soon as they got there and made the decision to fly him to Addenbrooke’s.

“I went in the helicopter too and the pilot strapped me into the front seat while the doctor and paramedic worked with Aaron in the back."

 
“I couldn’t really see what the clinicians were doing from where I was sitting, which was probably a good thing, but I was very anxious to know what was going on.  I think I was numb with worry – I kept seeing that advert in my head about what happens if a child is in a crash at 40 miles an hour compared to if it’s at 30 miles an hour.”

'Air ambulance saved his life'

David is in no doubt that being airlifted saved his son’s life.  He said:  “They were brutally honest with us at the hospital and gave us the facts, telling us that Aaron was very poorly and with these injuries some children will live and some will die.  Without a doubt the air ambulance saved his life – the journey would just have been a nightmare by road.”

Gradually Aaron started to recover – talking again and relearning to walk.  After two and a half weeks in Addenbrooke’s he was transferred to the West Suffolk Hospital closer to home. 

The accident has hardly left any scars at all.  Although Aaron’s head took all the impact his parents said he hardly had any other scratches or bruises.  He has a small scar near his eye following surgery while in hospital and is unable to hear in one ear but in every other way his recovery has been remarkable.

(Photo of Aaron used courtesy of Archant Suffolk)