Kettering motorcyclist who was saved by air ambulance is now face of fundraising campaign

A Kettering motorcyclist who was saved by the local air ambulance after a road traffic collision is now the face of a fundraising campaign.

Andre Oliveria, 33, was treated by the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) after a car suddenly pulled out in front of his motorcycle in Barton Seagrave in September 2018.

He will now be featured in a fundraising campaign being sent out to households across Northamptonshire and Warwickshire.

Andre's accident happened when he had no time to stop after the car pulled out in front of him.

He said: "I crashed into the car’s wheel arch and my body hit the windscreen. My helmet came off as I was thrown across the road which is why I had so many injuries to my head and neck."

An off-duty doctor helped Andre at the scene before an ambulance arrived, soon after Andre remembers seeing the helicopter in the sky.

He said: "That's when I realised how serious the situation was. I was really scared but as soon as the air ambulance crew arrived on the scene, I had confidence in them and felt less worried."

The WNAA crew were able to give Andre a ketamine injection, a pain relieving drug that most normal ambulance crews are not able to administer.

The helicopter also managed to get Andre to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire's major trauma centre in just 13 minutes.

The motorcyclist had suffered life-changing injuries including two broken vertebrae in his neck, a shattered left kneecap, deep scalp lacerations that needed over 100 stitches, a broken nose and he suffered a stroke.

He spent two weeks in hospital and was admitted two months later for an operation on his left leg to remove the shattered bones in his kneecap. Andre then had to learn to walk again.

As part of his recovey, Andre visited the WNAA base at Coventry Airport and met critical care paramedic Mark Beasley, one of the crew members who helped him.

Andre said: "No words can express my gratitude for what you did for me that day. I don’t think I’d be here now without the air ambulance. I know I was in a critical situation. I don’t have words enough to thank you."

He hopes his story will inspire people to make donations to keep the helicopters flying.

Andre said: "I can’t believe the air ambulance is a charity and receives no government funding."

If you would like to find out more information about the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance and how you can support the charity, you can visit their website here.

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