The mother of a Chatteris man whose son suffered life-changing injuries in a freak accident earlier this year has hailed the efforts of air ambulance paramedics who saved his life.
Ben Crosbie, 40, suffered serious injuries on August 4 when the winch on a glass hearse he was loading into a lorry failed, and left him crushed between the lorry and hearse.
The groom and coachman was left pinned and with serious internal injuries.
Paramedics from the Magpas Air Ambulance were on the scene within minutes, airlifting him to Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
In hospital, he was found to have severe internal bleeding, he lost one kidney after the blood supply was cut, and severe fractures on his ankle and pelvis.
His mum, Sally Crosbie, had been playing in a golf competition nearby, but admitted she wasn’t prepared for the news of her son’s injury.
“It was fairly traumatic because you don’t know what to expect – I didn’t know how serious it was,” the retired hospital physiotherapist said.
“Initially you are quite numb, and it’s very different when you are looking at your own child in these situations.”
Mrs Crosbie said that her son was still conscious and “still Ben,” and despite spending days in intensive care, undergoing abdominal surgery and remaining in hospital for four weeks with his life-changing injuries, he remained positive.
Ben has yet to return to work, but is back on his feet again and has ongoing treatment.
“It’s difficult to know, it’s only four months ago,” Mrs Crosbie said on the impact his injuries will have.
“He is recovering slowly and he is a very positive man, so he is doing very well, and if it wasn’t for Magpas I wouldn’t like to think.”
Yesterday, Mrs Crosbie joined other families whose loved ones have been saved by Magpas at a special gathering.
Mrs Crosbie added: “You never expect it to happen to your own family, and when you see people in hospital you never think about it with your own children.
“At this time of year it seems that people’s lives would be completely changed if their loved ones hadn’t made it.
“As a family we are very grateful to Magpas. Ben is actually doing well and that’s down to them.”
The Magpas ‘ultimate wake-up call’ event yesterday on December 7 highlighted how important urgent critical care teams are to the region – with mothers from across the east of England gathering for the occasion.
As well as getting the chance to meet each other and share their stories, the families were also able to meet the air ambulance paramedics who helped to save the lives of their family members.
Dr Simon Lewis, medical director with Magpas, said: “It’s the first time we have had a gathering like this and for us it’s incredibly humbling and slightly overwhelming to see all those people together.
“The families themselves have been through some life-changing events and we are really glad that Magpas has been able to help them.
“This time of year particularly brings it home, at Christmas people often think of families.”
The families at the wake-up call event are also supporters of the cause in raising awareness and money, with Mrs Crosbie raising cash this year as the Fynn Valley Golf Club ladies captain.
Dr Lewis said: “It’s very heartwarming that people make the effort to come back to us and see how they are doing.
“Ben’s was an unusual incident, but it’s good to hear he is making progress.”
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