School girl thanks North West Air Ambulance after it airlifts her to safety
A family have wished an emotional thank you to the air ambulance crew that saved their young daughter’s life by raising nearly £3,000.
Seven-year-old Erin Garstang was left fighting for her life in August 2020 after she suddenly collapsed at home in Lytham St Annes.
When her mother Clair realised that she was not breathing, she quickly performed CPR and alerted the emergency services.
The North West Air Ambulance and North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) made their way to the scene, with emergency paramedic Mark Etherington intervening to save Erin’s life.
Erin received medication through her shin and was accompanied by land ambulance to Blackpool Victoria Hospital, where she was stabilised in a coma before being transferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.
Throughout her months-long treatment at Alder Hey, doctors battled to diagnose the cause of her initial collapse.
She was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a device similar to a pacemaker, and in October 2021 was diagnosed with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT). The genetic condition is characterised by an abnormal heart rhythm.
Due to Covid, mum Clair and dad Rob were unable to join her on the ward so they camped out in the car park until they were able to see Erin again.
They made the difficult decision to stay away from Erin’s sisters, Jess and Lucy, so that they could continue to visit Erin whilst she underwent treatment.
Clair Garstang said: “It’s difficult to explain the panic that I felt when Erin collapsed. I just knew that something was wrong straight away and jumped into action to try to help her.
"But the relief of hearing the air ambulance and the way they reassured us that everything would be okay, is something I’ll never forget.
"Without them, I’m not sure she would have made the recovery she did. They saved her life."
North West Air Ambulance relies solely on charitable donations and does not receive any monetary support from the Government or NHS.
It takes over £9.5 million a year to fund the work of its highly skilled paramedics, doctors and pilots, who attend to cases of serious illness and traumatic injury all year round. In 2021, the charity attended 2,491 missions to date.
Since Erin’s collapse, the Garstang family have been busy fundraising to say thanks.
Erin cut off and donated her hair to the Little Princess Trust, raising money for NWAA in the process.
These funds were matched by jewellers Beaverbrooks, with the total coming to nearly £3,000 with plans to raise more.
It also donated a defibrillator to Erin’s school.
Mark Etherington, the paramedic who saved Erin said: “We think Erin is a star and we are really grateful for raising such a huge amount of money to help us provide vital treatment to others.”