Matt's story

On 23 November 2016, aged 22, medical student Matt, was walking in West Kensington to have dinner with his friends when a car failed to follow the road bend and collided into him.

As the driver ploughed into the group of young men, Matt hit the windscreen and landed on the roadside. A passer-by called the ambulance service, and because of the severity of Matt’s injuries, London’s Air Ambulance’s advanced trauma team were also dispatched.

London’s Air Ambulance’s Dr Flora Bird arrived on scene and attended to Matt. She said: “When we arrived at the roadside, I was directed towards the sickest of the patients, which was Matt. I found him unconscious with evidence of a significant head injury. He had a suspected skull fracture and likely an intercranial bleed, which is absolutely time critical. He likely had rib fractures and a lung injury, as well as a right femur fracture.

“We did a series of interventions and supported his airway. We put him to sleep and gave him an anesthetic. We breathed for him and decompressed his chest on both sides to optimise his ventilation and lung expansion, and removed any excess blood or air from his chest. 

“Given how unconscious he was, how unwell he was so rapidly after injury, he was a patient that I genuinely didn’t think would survive."

"I was significantly concerned that he would die from a massive head injury. Everything that we did, we did as rapidly as we possibly could.”

Matt was taken to St Mary’s Hospital, where Dr Flora Bird handed him over to a neurosurgical team. Matt underwent two CT scans, the second of which showed the right side of his brain starting to cone. This is when pressure forces the brain through a small opening at the base of the skull onto the spinal cord: a serious life-threatening complication. Matt was rushed into emergency surgery to open his skull and relieve the pressure, following which he was taken straight to ICU.

Remaining in a coma for six weeks, Matt woke up in January 2017 and stayed in St Mary’s until the beginning of February. He then spent a month in Charing Cross Hospital’s neurorehabilitation unit before being discharged.

“There were times in my recovery when it felt like a slog,” said Matt. “But when all you have left is resilience, you learn how resilient you really are.”

Matt underwent intense out-patient rehab, including physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, neuropsychology and occupational therapy.

Incredibly, in 2018, Matt had made such a significant recovery that he was able to return to medical school.

“With a lot of help and support, I have qualified as a doctor, working where I used to be a patient!”

Dr Flora Bird said: “I thought it was likely that Matt’s story would be a very sad one. It is phenomenal and awesome that it’s not and that he went on to not just recover but recover amazingly well. I can’t help but hope that that was partly due to the timeframe in which we were dispatched, the speed in which we got there and the interventions we were able to give so soon after his injury. 

“He has gone on not only to leave hospital alive and well but to finish medical school, complete his finals and start as an F1 doctor in hospital.

"He is the case that I describe when I want to remind people that there are patients who have significant head and brain injury who are worth fighting for."

Matt is still living with some repercussions from the accident, including being more emotional, less confident and having fixed thinking. “I am different for life, but I’m alright. I’m working on my weaknesses, but I’ve also gained so much, I’ve learnt so much about myself.

“Until someone tells me that I can’t do it, I’m just going to keep on going.

“The air ambulance team saved my life, they gave me a second chance. Dr Bird is an inspiration and without doubt one of the most compassionate doctors I have had the pleasure of meeting. She makes saving lives look effortless."

“The fact that London’s Air Ambulance is a charity is insane. They save lives for free, and I will forever be grateful.”