Andrew’s Story 🎬

On 2nd June 2019, Andrew Bord, from Bushey, was taking a shower when he blacked out, fell and had a seizure. Nobody knows if the seizure was because he banged his head or whether his seizure began as he lost consciousness.

Andrew said: “On the day of the incident, all I remember is I was in the shower. It felt like the lights were going out re nat was the feeling nad. From then on, I don’t remember anything.”

His wife Emma was downstairs in their family home, changing her son’s nappy, when she heard a thud from above. She rushed upstairs to see what had happened and found Andrew with “blood pouring out of his head, shaking all over and foaming at the mouth – it was like a horror film.”

When Pre-hospital Care Doctor Katia Ruecker and Critical Care Paramedic James Samouelle arrived, they quickly identified they had to treat the large wound on Andrew’s head and give him a pre-hospital anaesthetic in order to take over his breathing. This would start the process of reducing his brain injury and prevent, as best as possible, any further harm.

Once stabilised, he was airlifted to a specialist hospital, The Roval London, which only took eight minutes in the helicopter, whilst Emma his wife went by a blue-lighted police car which took nearly an hour.

EHAAT Gridical Care Paramedic James Samouelle said: “It’s extremely important to have the paramedic and the doctor onboard the aircraft. Even taking a patient to a local hospital, that delay has a significant impact on the outcome, but we can deliver the interventions and hopefully make a difference. I’m really proud to work in a service like this and have outcomes like this being part of a team that genuinely helps save people’s lives whenever we go out.”

Emma said she feared the worst, or if not, he may have a severe brain injury and not remember her name.

“Unbelievably, he has made an amazing recovery. He was back home within a few days and is doing really well. After a few weeks, he was nearly back to his old self. Essex & Herts Air Ambulance is an utterly amazing service, and I am so thankful to them for saving my husband’s life. I can’t thank them enough for everything. The doctors on the helicopter, the speed of their work, and the decisions they made were simply amazing.”

Reflecting on his experience. Andrew said he would forever be thankful for the crew’s rapid response, emphasising just how crucial the early intervention was to his chances of survival.

“If I think about what the air ambulance has done for me – they’ve saved my life. My wife wouldn’t have a husband. To think my kids could have gone without a father. I live for the day now, more than ever.