Daniel’s Story

Boxer Daniel Bainger was training for a fight to raise funds for The Air Ambulance Service when he was involved in a road traffic accident and urgently needed their help.

Daniel was just two months away from his charity bout when he was knocked from his motorbike on his way to work in Northampton in the early hours of 15 January 2024. He suffered serious injuries to his spine and needed to be stabilised before being taken by helicopter to hospital for surgery to save his ability to walk.

Now after a long fight back to fitness he is ready to lace up his gloves and finish what he started.

Daniel said: “When I originally planned to raise money for The Air Ambulance Service  it’s because they are a great cause – there was no way I could have known that I would need their help just a few weeks before the match. Recovery has been hard but this experience has made me even more determined to give something back.”

He explains what happened that day. “It was a cold morning and I decided to ride a different way to work than usual because of the frosty conditions. I was waiting at a junction to merge with traffic, and the next thing I knew I was on my back and people were rushing to help. A car had hit me from behind while I was stationary.”

Fortunately, Daniel had recently invested in new safety gear including leathers, a high visibility vest and helmet. However, he realised straight away that his back was in pain. “When I said this to one of the people who came to help, they told me I had to lie still and not move. It was a good job he was there as it turns out he was absolutely right. I later learned I had a burst fracture in one of my vertebrae and was leaking spinal fluid. Too much movement may have put me in a wheelchair.”

A crew from The Air Ambulance Service covering Northamptonshire were called by the attending emergency services and arrived by helicopter within minutes. After treating him for the pain and ensuring Daniel was safe to travel he was loaded onto the helicopter and taken to University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire (UHCW). The journey took just 17 minutes as opposed to nearly an hour by land.

Daniel underwent an operation that resulted in two titanium rods and six screws being used to support his damaged spine. He also suffered a fractured ankle, lacerated liver and bruised lungs.

After 12 days in hospital and seven months off work he tentatively decided to return to light training to regain some of his fitness. Just a year and a half later, he was ready to step back into the ring oncce again.

Daniel explained: “I’ve spent the past year and a half working incredibly hard on my recovery, and took part in a charity boxing match on 19 July to give back to the incredible charity who helps people like me, on the worst day of their lives.”