Neil Osborn reflects on a day that changed his family’s life forever…

Three years ago, Neil Osborn and his wife Stella were involved in a head-on road traffic collision on the Dorset/Devon border. Multiple casualties were reported, with one patient rapidly becoming unconscious. Both Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance and Devon Air Ambulance attended the incident. Neil was airlifted to hospital. However, despite everyone’s best efforts, Stella continued to deteriorate and went into cardiac arrest. Despite emergency surgery performed at the roadside, her injuries proved un-survivable.

Earlier this year, Neil sent us a letter of sincere thanks. He has kindly agreed for us to share this with you…

“I am now mentally and physically strong enough to thank everybody who was involved in my recovery following a road traffic incident that took place in Weymouth back in 2015.

“My wife Stella was not to survive, but I must honour and thank those involved for trying to save her life at the scene on the day and for showing such dedication and compassion in doing so.

“With fantastic support from the NHS and my family and friends, I have been able to recover from my injuries to regain independence – but without the support, motivation and direction from all those many people involved, I know that wouldn’t have been the outcome.

“Thank you so much to those who tried to save Stella’s life – sadly not to be, but for reasons we will never know, she lost her life. I cannot express enough how grateful my family feels for your superhuman effort in saving my life, trying to save Stella’s life on the day and providing support while we dealt with the court case process throughout. We will never, ever forget the help we received.

“On behalf of Stella, my daughter Joanne and son Richard, son-in-law Christopher and daughter-in-law Emma, together with my grandchildren, Hannah, Sam, Jack, George and myself, THANK YOU!”

After receiving Neil’s letter and kind donation, we replied with thanks and offered him the opportunity to visit our team at Henstridge. In May, he came along and met with Ian Mew and Michelle Walker, who both attended the incident.

“During my visit to the airbase, I was able to directly re-confirm my support and gratitude to two of the three crew members who were actually involved on the day. It was very important for me to make this personal connection to be able to come to a point of personal closure, particularly as I was unconscious at the time of the incident. Like many people, until I personally needed help, I was not aware that air ambulances are registered as charities. I now personally feel these vital charitable organisations must be supported financially by others wherever possible, for them to be able to continue responding to requests as and when an emergency call for help is received.

“Without the support of Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance on that fateful day, the quality of my wife’s passing would have been significantly different.”

If you've been inspired by Neil’s story and would like to help us to continue saving lives, we would be grateful to receive your donation. No matter how big or small, every penny donated really will make a big difference! Thank you.