Island Life Magazine Ltd February / March 2016 | Page 36
INTERVIEW
A real case study:
The heartfelt story of why a former patient
is raising money for the Air Ambulance
L
ess than a year after being
involved in a serious car accident,
which put her in a coma for over
two weeks and led to her arm being
amputated, foster carer and mum
of one Danielle Bartley took on a
terrifying challenge to raise money
for the Air Ambulance and show just
how grateful she was for her rescue.
It was back in November 2014, that
Danielle was involved in a serious
road traffic collision on the M3,
which left her fighting for life.
Tragically, she ended up having
her right arm amputated just below
the elbow, but Danielle openly
admits that, without the help of
the HIOWAA crew at the scene, she
would not be alive today.
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Climbing over
the O2 building
That was why, last September, and
less than a year after her accident,
Danielle courageously climbed a
walkway over the top of the former
Millennium Dome in London, to
raise money for the Air Ambulance.
Despite being prone to vertigo, she
confronted one of her greatest fears
to conquer the grand peak of the O2
at 52 metres – a climb that took her
around 90 minutes and raised over
£2,000 for the charity.
D
anielle, who has looked after 15 foster
children during the past four years, as
well as bringing up her own son, eight yearold Ethan, said: “This was my way of saying
‘thank you’ to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air
Ambulance. I would never have made it by road
ambulance, and without the Air Ambulance,
my son wouldn’t still have his Mum, his only
parent.”
Friends, family and supporters all rallied to
Danielle’s cause, and donated generously in
sponsorship of her effort.
Alex Lochrane describes Danielle as “a
legend”.
“Having suffered life-changing and disfiguring
injuries in an accident, she has been so positive
and so open about what happened to her, and
she continues to come up with fund-raising
ideas.
“She’s an all-round amazing lady and we are
very grateful to her”.