“I’m told it was touch and go for a while. My condition was critical, and I could have been brain damaged, but luckily I am alive and OK.” - Andrew

Football referee Andrew Jarvis (60) from Worksop, collapsed during a game in Mansfield to the shock of his teammates and family. A physically fit and active grandfather, Andrew never expected anything would stop him from playing the sport he loved. Thanks to the fast actions of his teammates and the local community, Andrew received lifesaving CPR until the critical care crew from Your local air ambulance landed on the pitch.

Your support meant that Andrew was able to receive time-critical medical interventions, that would otherwise only have been possible in theatre.

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Little did active grandfather Andrew know that refereeing a local football game would give a whole new meaning to ‘extra time’. During the game between Rainworth Miners Welfare FC and Hallam FC, Andrew suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch. The club acted fast and used a defibrillator to restart his heart – which was crucial to his survival – while calls were made to the emergency services.

The local Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA) was deployed to give Andrew the best possible chance of survival. Able to carry out medical interventions outside of a hospital setting, the critical care crew anaesthetised and intubated Andrew to stabilise him for an air transfer to hospital.

In just 13 minutes, Andrew arrived by helicopter at Royal Derby Hospital. A journey that would have taken at least 45 minutes by land ambulance – too long a risk when every second counted for Andrew. Despite the lifesaving actions already performed on him, Andrew needed urgent cardiac surgery.

Within minutes of landing at the hospital’s helipad, Andrew was being treated by cardiac specialists who fitted a stent to widen a blocked artery. Three days later he was well enough to go home.

“I am so thankful to everyone who helped me. I got quality treatment from highly skilled people at the scene and then I was transferred straight to where I needed to be for a lifesaving procedure,” says Andrew.

Just 10 months after his cardiac arrest, Andrew walks every day, goes to the gym, swims and is thinking about a return to refereeing. He knows for sure how fortunate he was to have been at the football club when he collapsed. But he didn’t know that we were a charity that received no government funding.

He explains: “I knew that the air ambulance is a charity, but I didn’t realise that it relies totally on donations and fundraising to keep operational. I thought there was some state support. This is why I want to use my story to help raise awareness of, and funds for, the lifesaving work they do every day of the year.”

Our critical care crews attend approximately 10 missions a day. Each one costs an average of £1,700. Although we work closely with the NHS, we are a charity and receive zero government funding. Your local air ambulance is funded by you, the public. And with our fuel prices predicted to rise by an additional £100,000 this year alone, we need your help more than ever to keep us flying and providing pre-hospital emergency care.

Donate to our life saving missions today and give more people like Andrew extra time.

Testimonial author
I knew that the air ambulance is a charity but I didn’t realise that it relies totally on donations and fundraising to keep operational. Andrew, Referee, Worksop

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Adrian's Story

As you may already know, we receive no government funding and rely solely on kind donations from our supporters. Each mission costs £1,700, on average, to potentially help save a life.

Are you able to donate today to help us save more lives like Adrian’s?

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We rely on our patients coming forward so if you’ve had personal experience of our local air ambulances we’d love to hear your story. For more information on how to share your story, visit our Share Your Story page.