2 Jun 2023
Warning - this story discusses domestic violence
In June 2021, Rachel was brutally attacked by her ex-partner.
“He asked to meet me to give me back some things of mine,” described Rachel, “so we met by my car in a local supermarket car park. I had just finished a shift in a restaurant in town.
“It had been a completely normal day.
“With my car boot open, I looked in for a bag. As I turned around, he had taken off his own backpack and was pulling a large knife out of it.
“After that, it all went very fast.”
Rachel’s ex-partner stabbed her in her stomach twice, causing Rachel to fall backwards. He then proceeded to stab her another 16 times, across the left-hand side of her body.
“I remember struggling on the floor, unable to fight him off.
“Luckily, I had told my sister I was meeting him and she was uneasy, so she had come to town and followed us into the car park. She pulled him off of me and two members of the public helped her restrain him.”
A witness of the attack called 999. London’s Air Ambulance was dispatched in the helicopter to reach Rachel’s side as quickly as they could.
Alongside multiple stab wounds to her hand, arm, chest and thigh, Rachel had a punctured lung. On scene, in order to give Rachel the best chance of recovery, London’s Air Ambulance’s advanced crew administered her analgesia before sedating her. They provided a blood transfusion – something only our crew can do on the roadside – and placed a chest drain. She was then taken to hospital by road.
“I was in hospital for 12 days. Alongside the 18 wounds, they had to perform a laparotomy – a surgery to my abdomen to remove 10cm of my intestine.
“Nerve damage to my left hand left me with no sensation in three fingers on one hand, which hasn’t improved. My leg was also in a really bad way.”
Rachel was discharged from hospital and returned home where she lived with her mum, dad, sister and son.
“Recovery was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. We didn’t realise how bad my left leg mobility was until we got home. It was there we started the process of trying to understand what was wrong with it.”
After months of committed physiotherapy, Rachel has better function and mobility in her leg.
“I would say I’m still going through recovery, my leg isn’t fully recovered, and it is a daily reminder of what happened. It’s hard to come to terms that sometimes I can’t be as fast as my little boy needs me to be.
“But he’s been an incredible motivator. If it wasn’t for him, I might not have worked as hard to get back on my feet.
“He’s now at nursery and I am so glad I’m here to watch him grow up.”
After her accident, London’s Air Ambulance’s patient liaison team introduced Rachel to Claire, another patient who had experienced a similar attack.
“It was amazing to meet Claire. We’re still friends now, we often talk and meet when we can. It was so helpful to talk to someone who understood the pain, the hospital experience – someone who truly understood how I felt.
“I knew London had a helicopter, but I didn’t know they did amazing things like this, and I didn’t know it was a charity.”
Alongside watching her little boy grow, Rachel is now exploring courses with Women’s Aid.
“I’ve done one already and I’m going to do more. I want to educate myself further and find a career in that area.
“I want to do something to help women understand what a healthy relationship looks like and what the red flags are – I’ve lived them.
“What happened to me will never go away, it will always be there. But my family and I have shut the door on that chapter now and we’re looking ahead.”