On 13th November 2022, Damien Keys, a local joiner and part time driving instructor of 25 years, started his day like any other normal day with plans to carry out some maintenance work at one of the radio towers at Sheriff’s Mountain, Derry/L’Derry.
An amateur radio operator since 1982, Damien was keen to complete the essential work that afternoon, which required him to climb approximately 60 feet. Damien made it to twenty-five feet of the climb before unfortunately falling to the ground and suffering a list of injuries that required immediate medical attention.
Damien’s friends and fellow club members Paul and Gerard raised the alarm and multiple blue light services were called to the scene, including Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS), Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) and the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS).
Damien required urgent care including being put into an induced coma at scene by the HEMS team. This is one of the unique interventions that can only be provided by the HEMS team.
Damien was taken in the air ambulance to the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) in Belfast. He had suffered a huge range of serious injuries including a fractured skull, bleed to the brain, punctured adrenal gland, damaged vertebra on lower back, 6 broken ribs, fractured collar bones and lacerations to the head. Damien required 10 days in the Intensive Care Unit and a further week in the Major Trauma Department.
With the dedicated care and expertise of all the medical staff involved in Damien’s treatment and initial care, he was then discharged from the RVH to the care of the North West Brain Injury clinic at Spruce house Altnagelvin.
Speaking about the accident Damien said, “I never thought it would happen to me, I never thought I would be the one needing the lifesaving work of emergency services. I had the optimistic bias that it just wouldn’t happen to me especially because I had over 30 years’ experience working at heights on various antenna masts.
With my hand on my heart, I can say I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the work of the emergency services, and particularly the HEMS team on that fateful day. It has been a long and slow recovery period since the accident, and a rollercoaster of emotions and different steps of physical recovery, but I have made fantastic progress, and I went back to work within the estates department of Altnagelvin Hospital just a few weeks before the first anniversary of the accident. My driving licence was eventually returned meaning I can return to my second occupation as a driving instructor in the future, although I do have ongoing balance and memory issues two years on. I am so grateful for everything the team did for me, it just goes to show you really don’t know who, where or why the service will be needed.”
Since the accident, Damien’s family have collectively raised an incredible £3,000 for the Air Ambulance NI charity, from bucket collections and cupcake sales in the city, to raising money with the pageants his daughter Rebecca successfully competes in.
Damien has since become a member of Air Ambulance NI membership club called Club AANI, saying “I am now a member of Air Ambulance NI and realise how important it is to help in any way possible to support and hopefully save a life.
My family and I visited the Air Ambulance NI base and had a chance to thank everyone and present a cheque and my daughter would dearly love to become an ambassador for Air Ambulance NI in our home city.”
Rebecca now plans to become an ambassador for the Air Ambulance charity in her area to help raise awareness of the vital contribution to saving lives and in particular the help the service provided to her dad.
Katrina Hughes, Area Fundraising Manager with the charity said, “Air Ambulance provides a service we all hope never to need, but that is tasked on average twice per day, and costs just under £7,000 per day in fundraising to keep operational. Damien’s injuries meant he needed emergency pre-hospital care right there in the moment to give him the chance of survival and recovery. Damien has shown determination, strength and resilience in his recovery and we are incredibly grateful to have the whole family’s support.”
Air Ambulance NI, in partnership with NIAS, continues to be a lifeline for communities across the province, offering critical Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) that operates seven days a week, twelve hours a day.
The clinical team have been tasked over 4,500 times since the service started in July 2017. They are dedicated to providing urgent medical assistance to anyone in need, regardless of location, with the primary aim of saving lives, preserving neurological function, and preventing limb loss. Equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and staffed by highly trained professionals, the service delivers emergency pre-hospital care directly to patients who are seriously ill or injured.
Operating at a remarkable pace, the aircraft can reach anywhere in Northern Ireland in approximately twenty-five minutes, ensuring rapid response to emergencies. On average, the medical team is called upon twice daily to respond to a range of incidents, including serious road traffic collisions, farm or workplace accidents, sport and leisure incidents, and medical emergencies.
As a local charity, Air Ambulance NI relies on the generosity of the public to maintain and sustain its essential services, aiming to raise £2.5 million annually.
If you are interested in supporting the life saving work of Air Ambulance NI, you can sign up to the annual membership, Club AANI, for just £2 per week. To find out more, or to sign up and become a member today, visit www.airambulanceni.org/club-aani-membership/ or contact the charity on 028 9262 2677.