A father of three who lost 60 percent of the blood in his body after a chainsaw got stuck in his chest during a freak accident thanked the North West Air Ambulance charity for saving his life.
Robert Gardner was struck with the machinery as he tried to tidy up his Preston home on Jubilee weekend to prepare for a party, according to ITV News.
As he started using the new chainsaw to cut a pile of logs that needed clearing in his garden, the machinery bounced back at him, embedding itself in his chest.
Gardner nearly lost his life due to the freak accident
Gardner said his left arm went numb, and he knew if he pushed it one way, it would go in deeper to his shoulder, but if he pushed it the other, it would cut him further. He added that he started to fight to get it off him, but it got caught in his t-shirt, so he called his wife Karen for help.
Karen, who was on the phone at the time inside their home in Farrington Moss, said that she immediately knew something had gone wrong with her husband. She said she was on the phone talking to his mother when she heard Rob shouting at her. She said that her husband is always pottering around in the garden, but this was a different shout from his usual.
She added that Rob came from the side of the shed and walked around, and she could see the chainsaw. She said that her husband was trying to push it away from his body, and then he just laid down on the floor.
Karen said she hung up on his mother and ran to her husband. The chainsaw did a lot of damage as there was a lot of blood flowing out everywhere, according to BBC News. Karen noted that Robert was quite calm, but they both knew it was serious.
Karen tried to stop the bleeding by using a dust sheet from the shed. She pressed onto her husband's wound while speaking to 999 call handlers.
North West Air Ambulance Charity's treatment of Rob at the scene proves crucial
The couple both thought Robert would not make it, so as they waited for the arrival of emergency services, they declared their love for each other. Paramedics arrived 13 minutes after the call, and due to the severity of his injuries, North West Air Ambulance was requested immediately to transport Rob. The aircraft landed in a field at the bottom of the garden.
Critical Care Paramedic Adam Wager and Consultant Doctor Eimhear Quinn were the team on board the Air Ambulance. Eimhear said that as soon as they saw him, they knew they had to get started straight away.
The enhanced pre-hospital care teams of North West Air Ambulance Charity carry eight units of blood on board to every job. They were used to give the wounded dad an immediate transfusion at the scene. Adam and Eimhear maintained the blood flow and pressure to Rob's heart and traveled with him in a land ambulance to Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
He would have died before he arrived at the hospital without this treatment at the scene, according to Manchester Evening News.
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