A woman from Gilsland has raised vital funds for the Great North Air Ambulance Service after her father and brother required the charity’s help.
Hannah Kennedy, 25, tackled the Great North Run and hosted a breakfast event in the local community which collectively raised nearly £2,000 for the charity.
She chose to support her the air ambulance after they responded twice to her family’s farm, in a rural area close to Hadrian’s Wall.
In February 2023, Hannah’s father Leslie, 75, was seriously injured when a trailer attached to a quad bike slid down a hill and pinned him underneath, trapping his leg.
The incident happened in a remote area far away from the farmyard and at the time Leslie was on his own.
Leslie said: “I knew my son, who works with us, would be here soon and he eventually came. They got the trailer off me and it was obvious that my leg was in a position that it shouldn’t be.”
After calling for the emergency services, a local paramedic attended, and Hannah helped transport him to the location using another quad bike.
Leslie said: “When he assessed the situation, he said they would need to request the air ambulance because they couldn’t get a land vehicle to me.
“The next thing I knew I was waking up in a helicopter and being taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.”
Two paramedics and a doctor from the air ambulance attended the scene and confirmed that Leslie had sustained an open tibia and fibula fracture.
They administered advanced pain relief before realigning his leg, which was at a 180 degree angle.
Local mountain rescue team members had also responded and assisted in carrying Leslie to the helicopter before he was airlifted to the hospital in around 15 minutes.
He required surgery to insert a 30-centimetre steel plate and four screws in his leg, as well as 30 stitches.
After ten days in hospital and further treatment for an infection, his leg has since healed.
He said: “I cannot praise the NHS, the paramedics, the air ambulance, and mountain rescue enough.”
The family’s gratitude for the emergency services stretches back even further, as Hannah’s brother John, now 28, was also airlifted to hospital when he was younger after a serious quad bike incident that left him unconscious with a damaged kidney.
After witnessing the air ambulance respond to two family members as well as several members of the local community, Hannah took part in the Great North Run for the air ambulance, did a bucket collection at a local show, and helped organise a breakfast brunch, with proceeds being split between the air ambulance and a ward at the RVI.
She said: “From 10 in the morning until two in the afternoon the big breakfast event was full non-stop. There were parents, friends and people I didn’t even know, all coming together to enjoy a cooked breakfast.
“Gilsland and the surrounding areas are such a strong community, and we were overwhelmed by the amount of people that turned up and gave donations, as well as those who couldn’t make it but still donated.”
Local businesses, along with the Kennedy and Main families and their friends, got involved donating food, time and even the venue, while members of the public donated what they could.
Hannah said: “The support we received from our family and local businesses was unreal and it was a lovely thing to be a part of.
“The Great North Air Ambulance are heroes and we think everyone who gave money to our event are also heroes.”
Leslie added: “The public deserve huge praise for supporting services like the Great North Air Ambulance and the RVI.”
Hannah and Leslie have since visited the air ambulance base in Langwathby, where they presented a cheque for the money raised from their breakfast event, and had the opportunity to meet some of the charity’s critical care team.
Hannah said: “We see the air ambulance all the time responding to farmers and walkers and understand how much of a difference they make in rural communities like ours. It was nice to meet the crew and see the helicopter and know that this money is going to such an amazing service.”
