Lee Salmon and Ian Wood Keswick Mountain Rescue Team’s part in saving the life of a fell walker who suffered a heart attack while attempting to finish the Wainwrights has been acknowledged by a member of the Great North Air Ambulance.
Ian Wood, 48, of Cockermouth, had headed to Langstrath Valley on November 27 to continue his second round of strolling the Wainwrights, which are 214 fells in the Lake District.
He said: “I’d gone up the front of Eagle Crag, which was quite a high rocky climb and got to the top and then I was going in between Eagle Crag and Sergeant’s Crag when the cardiovascular disease happened. “At the time I thought it was just indigestion, so I stopped and took some Rennies however that didn’t truly assist. I got to the top of Sergeant’s Crag and I took some paracetamol, which again, made no difference. At that point, I sort of understood I needed help.” Mr Wood had provided his spouse Linda with the route he was taking and his timings, so he didn’t want to deviate too far from the path in case people needed to come looking for him
Sadly, he hadn’t seen anyone throughout his walk, and there was no phone signal, so he planned to try and get to the valley flooring as quickly as possible. He stated: “I ‘d gone past all the crags, and after that found an area where I could begin heading down. I could not walk anymore, so it was more crawling and moving and rolling down the hillside up until I could see the path. “Thankfully, I saw a couple strolling along the bottom in the range and I had a whistle and torch with me, so I blew the whistle and flashed the light at them, which got their attention.” The couple climbed up to Mr Wood to offer their assistance, before rushing to Stonethwaite to call 999.
Keswick Mountain Rescue Group, GNAAS and the Coastguard were dispatched and got there quickly afterwards. Mr Wood stated:” I keep in mind seeing the team from GNAAS rushing up to me because they had actually arrived on the other side of the river.
” They did an ECG and verified it was a heart attack and after that, they were planning the quickest way to get me to a healthcare facility. Paramedic Lee and Izzy the doctor were really professional, calm, and reassuring and they put me at ease. They offered me an aspirin and GTN spray immediately, but nothing truly changed the discomfort. I think I was too far gone by then, however I felt I was going to be all right, because help was there.
” While the mountain rescue team were talking about how long it would require to get me to the helicopter, the coastguard appeared up above me.” They put me in a sling and winched me up, then 25 minutes later I was in Blackpool. “Mr Wood had an obstruction in his left anterior descending artery so he had a stent fitted, and was put on a drip for 48 hours to break up an embolism. He stayed in hospital for 5 days and is now going through rehabilitation to assist with his recovery.
Since the occurrence Mr Wood’s other half has raised more than £1,000 for GNAAS from a walking challenge and has likewise signed up to do the Great North Run. The couple recently visited GNAAS’s base in Langwathby with their children to thank paramedic Lee Salmon for his assistance. Mr Salmon, who is head of operations west at the charity, said: “It is a genuine satisfaction to meet Ian once again, I feared how his cardiac arrest might impact him and it was excellent to hear that his heart surgical treatment came quickly and as an outcome of a collaboration in between several organisations.” Keswick Mountain Rescue Group, having the forethought to introduce the coastguard, their professionalism and swift rescue of a medically unwell casualty and after that the transfer of the client to the PPCI centre at Blackpool for the surgery that will now assist Ian leading a fairly typical life after he recovers.”
A former British Military Officer, Eddie went on to study History and then Journalism at Sheffield Hallam University. A keen outdoorsman, he has co-written several books on Outdoor Survival and Wild Camping. Now living in Penrith, Ed is a keen fellrunner.
