A NURSE is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro this year to raise money for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) after the charity helped her brother following a roof fall.

Dan Ranson, 46, was working his job as a roofer in Darlington, when he fell through a garage roof on 19 October 2022.

Mr Ranson had taken the full force of the fall on his right leg and sustained a double compound break to his tibia and a collapsed lung.

GNAAS arrived on scene in five minutes after being activated, and their doctor and paramedic team administered advanced pain relief including ketamine and straightened out Mr Ranson’s leg before airlifting him to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

His sister Sarah Macmurdie, 48, said: “GNAAS are just absolutely amazing, I’d 110% say that if they hadn’t been on scene so quickly I believe the outcome would have been very different.

“My sister and brother-in-law attended the scene and they also couldn’t rate them highly enough.”

Mrs Macmurdie, who lives in Warwick, travelled up to the North East to be by her brother’s side and stayed there for three weeks while he recovered in hospital.

She said: “Our family will be eternally grateful that he was able to receive treatment so quickly. We were lucky enough to meet one of the air ambulance doctors, who came to visit my brother on the ward. This was such a lovely gesture and very much appreciated.”

Due to the extent of Mr Ranson’s injuries, there was a chance he might lose his leg, but after three major operations it was saved and he’s now on the road to recovery.

His sister, who has previously taken part in the Yorkshire Three Peaks and Jurassic Coast challenge, now plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in September to raise money and awareness of GNAAS.

She said: “As a specialist palliative nurse working in the NHS I am aware of the great work all air ambulances do in the country and I’ve always been quite inspired by them.

“By raising money for GNAAS, I hope to make a difference in people’s lives, as you never know when you might need their services.”

To sponsor Mrs Macmurdie visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sarah-macmurdie5

GNAAS does not receive government funding and is dependent on donations to survive. To donate or find out more about the charity visit www.gnaas.com