Andover skydiver grateful for Hampshire air ambulance
Michael Oakes suffered a broken back in a sky-diving accident
A former Royal Marines commando - from Andover - says the actions of Hampshire air ambulance may have saved him from being paralysed.
Michael Oakes broke his back in a parachute accident at Netheravon parachute centre last month.
Facing a three hour wait for an ambulance and then a bumpy ride to hospital - he says words cannot describe his gratitude for being helped by the air ambulance.
Michael said:
“We’d seen the Air Ambulance fly overhead on its way back to base from a separate incident, It must have been re-tasked because they suddenly turned around and made straight for me.
“I can’t describe how I felt knowing that suddenly help was quite literally dropping in.
“When the Air Ambulance landed, I remember just thinking thank God, I’m safe now. I knew that whatever happened next the outcome would be the best it could possibly be. I trusted them completely.”
Jump number 379
In October 2023, Michael took to the skies 15,000 feet over the Army Parachute Association at Skydive Netheravon, ready for his eighth jump that weekend. As he attempted a new manoeuvre, approximately 200 feet from the ground, something was wrong. And it was too late to correct it. Michael hurtled toward the ground at maximum speed.
Unbelievably, when Michael first hit the floor, he thought he was okay. But, just 10 seconds later, he was unconscious in a heap on the ground. The staff surrounded Michael and went into “emergency mode.”
The crew asked Michael some questions before cutting away his clothes and administering strong pain relief so he could be safely loaded onto the helicopter, ready to be flown to University Hospital Southampton. He spent the next seven days in the specialist spinal unit before being discharged home.
Michael suffered a burst L4 spinal fracture – a potentially life-changing injury.
Michael added:
“I was luckily jumping with a doctor who took control of the situation, but, as time went on, I knew I was in trouble. The pain just kept increasing and with it the volume of my screams. I consider myself quite stoic, but I’d never felt anything like it before.”
“By some miracle my spinal cord appears unaffected,
“It’s going to be months-long, but I’m determined that I’ll work hard and recover. I should regain nearly 100% function and be able to do all the things that I used to do before.
“I find it hard to articulate how grateful I am. My hope is that somehow, the crew go home every day knowing that they’ve tangibly impacted lives for the better.
“We donate to these charities hoping that we’ll never need them, but without your donations and support I’d have been on the ground, perhaps for hours, in a pain I can’t describe – left unable to walk again. So, thank you everyone – I just don’t know how to make that small word bigger.”
Find out more about the work of the air ambulance here