"If the helipad had been anywhere other than just a short trolley dash to the emergency department, Amelia would not be here today. Saving time, saved her life."
It’s only recently that I’ve able to talk about what happened to Amelia without crying. Even now, I still feel cold when I remember that day. It was freezing as I watched her being lifted on a stretcher into the air ambulance. She is my only daughter and my world. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost her.
I’ll never forget the 6th November. Amelia was enjoying herself on holiday surrounded by people that loved her – her grandparents, my husband and I. She was a typical three year old, always running around and full of life.
As Amelia ran towards my husband, she suddenly fell with the front of her head hitting the ground. She began screaming uncontrollably and wouldn’t stop, and as her mother, I knew something wasn’t right, so we took her to the nearest A&E immediately. She then became very sleepy and started swaying to one side.
I’ll never forget her eyes – it was if she was looking straight through me. She didn’t know who I was. It soon became clear after she started to fit, that she needed specialist help or she was going to get a lot worse, so the decision was made to take her to the Bristol Children’s Hospital by Great Western Air Ambulance. At this point, she was unconscious and needed airway support and oxygen.
Once Amelia was in the air, my husband and I were then blue lighted to Bristol Children’s Hospital. I was in absolute pieces. I remember gripping my phone in the police car, willing for it not to ring. The crew said they would call if Amelia’s condition deteriorated. Although we got to hospital in 20 minutes, if felt like an eternity.
When we arrived, Amelia was already being treated by the hospital. This is not only because of the air ambulance’s speed, but also because it landed on a helipad that was right above the emergency department. Amelia was lucky, her brain scans came back clear and she was allowed home a few days afterwards.
I am so grateful that she has now fully recovered, and has no lasting damage from her injuries.
When Amelia celebrates each birthday, I am so thankful to the emergency services and to the HELP Appeal. She simply would not be here today if it wasn’t for them and I will always be grateful.
This is why I am telling my story because people tend to take their lives for granted and that accidents like Amelia’s happen to other children. I used to think that too. But it did happen to us and we nearly lost her. The HELP Appeal helped to build a helipad that allowed Amelia to get the treatment she urgently needed as quickly as possible. If it had not been there, the ending to our story could have been very different.
Jemma Pile’s daughter landed on Bristol Royal Infirmary’s helipad which was funded by the HELP Appeal.
Thousands of people have landed on HELP Appeal funded helipads since 2009 but many more hospitals are still in need of our help.
