Our charity has held a special place in Dan Root’s heart, after we helped to save his life 12 years ago, when he was involved in a road collision.
It was a sunny, dry October day in 2008, when Dan’s motorbike collided head-on with an oncoming car on Ashford Road, New Romney.
We airlifted Dan to the Royal London Hospital, arriving within 30 minutes.
The then 17-year-old was placed in a coma for a week and remained in a critical condition, with injuries to his head, face, chest, abdomen and pelvis. He was discharged from hospital just over two weeks later and spent the next 18 months rehabilitating and getting back to normal.
Fast-forward 12 years and Dan is now the Managing Director of Show Connections Ltd, based in New Romney, and recently decided to support “the air ambulance that helped save my life”.
Dan recently gave KSS 20 visors, which can be used to help protect our crew during the Coronavirus pandemic.
“We already had a 3d printer that we used for rapid prototyping, but I came across a design on a Facebook group. So we bought another 3D printer and got started. We print the shields in pairs, which takes three hours each, the printers are on 22 hours a day printing them.”
Dan, who’s now in full health, alongside dad Philip, have made and donated 460 visors to care homes, GP surgeries, pharmacies, and charities like us.
“It’s really nice to be able to give something back, especially for me because of the care and treatment I received during my crash. It’s about giving back and not be on the receiving end for a change”, added Dan.
Kevin Goddard was the pilot who conveyed Dan to hospital back in 2008.
“12 years certainly feels like a long time ago now, but I can remember that flight and carrying Dan to the Royal London Hospital. I’m pleased to hear Dan has since made a full recovery and just want to express my gratitude to Dan and Philip, for donating these PPE items to us. They will help to keep our crew safe as we continue our life-saving work during these unprecedented times”, said Captain Kevin Goddard.
