Name: John Eames

Background

40-year-old John Eames is a paramedic with West Midlands Ambulance Service, based in Burton, Staffordshire. He has been with the ambulance service for approximately ten years.

John was working a 12-hour shift in February, 2011, when the ambulance he was travelling in was in collision with a Polish lorry, which had crossed onto the wrong side of the road.

John received horrific leg injuries as a result of the accident, spending almost six months in two separate hospitals following the incident, undergoing four separate operations to repair his shattered legs.

How did the Blue Lamp Foundation help?

John spent a total of 22 weeks in hospital, initially at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, before being transferred to the Queen’s Hospital in Burton for further rehabilitation, as his home was unsuitable for a wheelchair.

John was awarded a £2,500 grant from the Blue Lamp Foundation to pay for adaptations to be made to his home, including the installation of a first floor bathroom. He was the first recipient of a grant from the charity, in June 2011, receiving his grant cheque from the charity’s founder PC David Rathband.

How the help was delivered?

While John was in hospital, work got underway to modify the house, for wheelchair use, so that he was able to return home and continue his recovery in familiar surroundings. The paramedic had Ilizarov frames attached to his legs, using wires and screws to support the bones during the healing process, which limited his mobility.

The impact this help had on the individual’s life

John’s life, and that of his wife Sarah, was transformed by the accident. Sarah, a care manager with a nursing background, was provided with practical advice on how to care for John at home, including how to look after the Ilizarov frames and keep the pin sites clean to reduce the risk of infection.

The future

22 weeks after his accident, John was able to return home, thanks to the adaptions to his home, with the help of the grant funding from the Blue Lamp Foundation.

Since receiving help from the Foundation, John has returned to work, and has become one of the charity’s champions. These champions are a network of serving police, fire and ambulance service personnel who actively fundraise and raise awareness of the financial support available to injured emergency services personnel, from the Blue Lamp Foundation.

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