Wendy was playing golf with her partner Julie on the 11 of July when she needed the skills and expertise of the Critical Care Team. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance landed on a nearby green and ran to her aid.
Wendy told us:
“I worked in Basingstoke as an Optometrist for 36 years. My main hobby is playing golf. I have played ever since I first learned how to, at the age of 10! But due to ‘wear and tear’ I eventually needed hip replacement surgery, which was successfully done in 2011 (right hip) and 2013 (left hip) with no problems at all.
“On a beautifully hot, sunny morning in July, I was playing golf at my club, Hartley Wintney, with my partner, Julie, when I hit a glorious tee shot to the 3rd fairway. I was so busy admiring it that when I bent down to pick up my tee peg, I did it all wrong… and promptly dislocated my left replacement hip. It was agony.
“I knew immediately what I had done and knew that I couldn’t move without assistance. So, Julie rang for an ambulance.
“The ambulance arrived within fifteen minutes, and two paramedics did a great job in assessing me, giving me gas and air, and, having administered the maximum dose of morphine they could, decided that it was still not enough pain relief to straighten my leg and get me off the course. We needed the Air Ambulance.
“Shortly after the paramedics made the call, we could hear the helicopter arriving. It landed on the 3rd fairway, miraculously avoiding the surrounding trees and power cables, then Dr David Sutton went to work.
“He was calm and reassuring, humorous and friendly, listened to the paramedic’s report, then told me exactly how he was going to treat me. To my huge relief, he gave me a shot of ketamine and that was my last memory of being on the ground.”
Wendy was transferred to Basingstoke Hospital A&E by road, and later that day, her hip was manipulated back into place.
“Had the Air Ambulance and their Critical Care Team not been available, then I am in no doubt that being put on a stretcher and driven off the course, over such undulating terrain, would have been excruciatingly painful. I am therefore extremely indebted to HIOWAA. They do a fantastic job.”
“I was not the only person who was impressed. There were many ladies who had walked behind the 3rd green to the 4th tee and had a clear view of the helicopter as it approached and landed, so admired the crew’s skills. And my partner Julie, and other golfing friends who were gathered round me, witnessed the professionalism and skills of the medics, especially Dr Sutton.
“My hip was very sore and stiff for a couple of days, but soon felt as good as new. I have to refrain from golf for two months to let the tendons and ligaments recover then normal service will be resumed.”
Wendy and her friends have since donated over £600 to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance to help keep the life-saving service flying.
