THE HERALD FRIDAY FEBRUARY 10 2017
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11 News A YOUNG couple who were
rescued by Wales Air Ambulance following a serious car collision whilst on their way to Pembrokeshire for a family holiday have tied the knot, getting married last month. Newlyweds Jess and Joe Mann
from Chester celebrated their big day in style at Highfield Hall in Mold just two weeks ago. In May last year however, the
couple were airlifted to hospital having suffered serious injuries after they were hit by a car which had span across the road in Machynlleth. The pair had intended to meet Joe’s family in Pembrokeshire for a family holiday. The Wales Air Ambulance were
quick to respond, arriving at the roadside within minutes. Jess and Joe were taken in separate helicopters to Royal Stoke University Hospital. The couple decided to ask friends
and family to make a donation to the Wales Air Ambulance, instead of giving them wedding gifts. The couple have since recalled the
events of their horrific accident and the amazing work of the emergency services that were involved in their rescue. Jess said: “I was conscious the
whole time. Joe got out of the car but didn’t realise he had internal bleeding. I couldn’t move. I looked down and saw my leg was broken. “Amazingly, the Wales Air
Ambulances arrived in 16 minutes. Because we were in the middle of nowhere, an ambulance would not have got there in time to take us to hospital by road. It would have been too late. “The Wales Air Ambulance were
incredible. They made me feel safe straightaway. The doctor spoke to me the whole time and told me what was going on. I was so frightened but one of the members of the team calmed me down almost straightaway. "I reached my hand out and she
held it while doing a million other things at the same time. I even had a blood transfusion on board – amazing when you see there’s not much space in the helicopter, but they have all the equipment they need.”
Dan Muller
dan.muller@herald.email Jess suffered a fractured femur so
her leg was put into a splint and the next day, she had a five–hour operation to insert a metal nail to her leg to fix the break. Joe experienced internal bleeding and needed emergency surgery to have a part of his bowel removed. He also had a fractured spine. Jess said: “When I arrived at the
hospital, I was taken to the Emergency Assessment Unit and the Air Ambulance crew told the hospital doctors what had happened. They then told me that Joe was being taken into theatre and asked if they wanted me to be taken to him so I could say goodbye.” Despite his severe condition, Joe
can also recall events from that day. He said: “The doctors were waiting to take me in so we didn’t have very long. It was only at that moment I realised how serious the situation was. I was worried about Jess and kept asking myself how she would cope. It was a pretty horrible situation and no–one should have to go through that. “I stayed in hospital for nine
days after my operation and was then allowed home to recover. Both Jess and I moved in with our parents as we weren’t able to do much and couldn’t look after each other very well. Jess said: “We had our dog, Mia,
with us in the car too. Luckily she was fine. One of the police officers took her home and looked after her overnight while we were in hospital. We had no idea at the time.” Four months post–surgery Jess
needed to have a second operation where her leg was broken and reset because her knee was rotating inwards. After a three–day stay at Stoke Hospital she was allowed home. Jess now has weekly physio sessions and came off crutches in January after using them for six months. She is slowly learning to walk
without support, and is building up the distance she can walk on her own. She said: “It’s really disheartening as there are things I just can’t do. I had to learn to walk again which was a real
APPEARING before court for the
first time on Tuesday (Feb 7), a young man from Pembroke Dock admitted being in possession of cannabis on two separate occasions. In front of Haverfordwest
magistrates, Kyran John Williams, 23, of Meyrick Street admitted being in possession of 4g of cannabis on December 30, 2016 and 3.9g of the Class B drug on January 5. Prosecutor Sian Vaughan said
the police attended at the defendant’s property in regards to an unrelated matter on the first occasion. They could smell cannabis and
Williams handed over the cannabis, with a street value of £40, and paraphernalia. He informed the police that the drugs were for his own personal use.
Ms Vaughan added that the second occasion was very similar. Mike Kelleher, defending, said that
Williams used cannabis for recreational purposes as he was not a drinker. “He doesn’t go out on Saturday
nights and keeps himself to himself, away from trouble,” the lawyer said. On the second occasion, the court
heard, Williams had bought cannabis for the New Year and walked into the police. Mr Kelleher informed magistrates
that this was his client’s first time before the court and said that the two amounts do not add up to a lot of cannabis. Magistrates fined the defendant
£160 and ordered him to pay £85 in prosecution costs and a £30 victim surcharge.
A remarkable recovery: Jess and Joe Mann pictured on their wedding day at Highfield Hall in Mold “Staff at Wales Air Ambulance’s
challenge for me.” Amazingly, Jess was able to walk
down the isle on her big day. She said: “Throughout all of this, the wedding has really kept us going. Through all that has happened, Joe was certain he didn’t want to move the date back. “We’ve had great support from our
families and friends around us. I was a very emotional day with lots of special references to the journey we’ve been on to get here.” “We can’t thank the Wales Air
Ambulance enough for everything they did to help us. Instead of a gift list, we’ve set up a Just Giving page for the charity. They rely solely on donations so it’s our way of being able to give something back to them and say thank you for everything they did.
Welshpool base recorded a special video message for us too to play on the day which was really emotional. Everyone was in tears by the end!” On board the Wales Air Ambulance
helicopters were medics Dr Stuart Gill, Dr Jennifer Dinsdale and Critical Care Practitioner John Adams. Also involved was Welsh Ambulance Service helicopter paramedic Ian Thomas. Chief Executive of Wales Air
Ambulance Angela Hughes said: “Jess and Joe are an amazing couple who have been through a very tough time. I want to pass on my warmest congratulations to them both for getting married on what must have been a very special day for them and
their families. “Jess and Joe came to see us when
they were home from hospital and it was incredible to meet them and see how well they had recovered from such a traumatic experience. “We’re really proud to be the
only air ambulance service serving Wales and the work we do would not be possible without fundraising and donations. We cover every corner of Wales and can reach anyone in danger within minutes, treating them at the scene and transporting them safely and quickly to the appropriate hospital.” If you wish to make a donation
to the Wales Air Ambulance you can visit Jess and Joe’s Just Giving page:
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ JoeandJessWeddingRegistry2017.
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