Patient Biographies
Category: Press Pack ArticlePaiwand
In episodes 1 & 2
49-year-old Paiwand lives alone in South East London. Originally from Iraqi Kurdistan, he came to the UK in the early 2000s to flee the regime of Saddam Hussein, settling in South East London where he worked in a garage with his uncle.
Eight days before his accident, he had just been back to Iraq to visit his family, for the first time in over 20 years.
Paiwand was a pedestrian who was hit by a lorry whilst crossing the road. He is trapped underneath the vehicle with crush injuries and medics from London’s Air Ambulance and LAS paramedics must work together to get him out safely whilst fire & rescue crews lift the HGV. Trauma doctor, Cosmo, suspects there may be internal bleeding … “and he’s therefore at risk of dying on scene”.
Once extracted, he’s rushed to King’s College Hospital where scans reveal Paiwand’s pelvis is intact but he has fractures to his arms and a seriously crushed leg which will require complex surgery if he is to walk again.
Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Ibraheim prepares to operate and rebuild Paiwand’s fractured femur.
The surgery goes smoothly and Paiwand is seen on the ward, at the start of his long recovery. After focussing on his rehab, he makes it home and has just returned from Iraq, where he was able to see his Mum and family once again.
Ralph
In episodes 1,2 & 4
84-year-old Ralph lives at home with his wife of sixty-two years, Jean. They have four children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He worked as a painter decorator, but for some years has been suffering from poor health and has more recently been housebound.
He arrives at St Mary’s Hospital after falling at home and suffering a fracture down the entire length of his thigh bone. CT scans confirm Ralph needs surgery but doctors are concerned as he has a number of pre-existing health conditions.
Consultant anaesthetist Ian and consultant geriatrician Michael want to ensure Ralph is aware of the risk to life due to potential complications post-surgery. When given the odds at 50/50 as to whether he will make it home, Ralph decides to go ahead and with worried wife Jean and her sister Doris at his bedside, he heads off to surgery.
Ralph’s fracture is successfully repaired with a large metal plate but the first 48 hours after an operation are a risky time for older trauma patients, and sadly, after moving to a ward, Ralph’s health deteriorates. His blood pressure drops after the surgery, and he struggles to meet the demands needed to recover from his operation.
Sadly, he passes away peacefully in the early hours of the morning. Jean and their children look through photos of Ralph over the years, remembering him as a brilliant father and grandfather.
Alicia
In episodes 1 & 2
13-year-old Alicia lives with her Mum in East London. She’d been out playing and ridden an electric scooter into a lamppost, resulting in a large gaping wound on the back of her upper leg.
With her Mum by her side, Alicia is treated on scene in the ambulance by Advanced Paramedic Practitioner Pete, who is concerned that the handlebar of the scooter has penetrated her thigh and she potentially has a broken leg. Whilst getting her pain under control, they chat about Alicia’s personality and how she has been at her school sports day.
Pete is concerned about the severity of the leg injury and rushes Alicia to The Royal London Major Trauma Centre where she has surgery on the wound. Paediatric orthopaedic surgeon Anouska explores and cleans the wound and repairs the damage to her hamstring.
Alicia’s Mum and Dad are extremely worried about their daughter but she is discharged shortly after the operation and heads home in the hope of getting back to doing the sport she loves.
Alicia recently won the 100 and 200m races at her school sports day.
Zoltan
In episodes 2, 3 & 4
33 year-old-Zoltan lives with fiancée Julia in East London. They have two young daughters, 8 year-old Zsaelyke and 3 year-old Zoe.
Twelve years ago, Zoltan moved from Hungary to the UK and now works at a hotel in Mayfair, as a maintenance engineer.
Zoltan is in St Mary’s Hospital with severe crush injuries after being hit by a van whilst walking along a pavement in central London. He had to be rescued from the basement of a Mayfair property by London’s Air Ambulance crews and LAS paramedics.
At St Mary’s, Zoltan’s leg had to be amputated below the knee and he also needs an operation to stabilise his fractured pelvis. In the same operation orthopaedic surgeon Ed trims the bone and plastic surgeons examine the remaining tissue to give them the best chance of saving what’s left of Zoltan’s leg.
Whilst Zoltan’s fiancée Julia visits him in hospital, he works hard with the physio team so that he’s strong enough to leave the ward and reunite with his family. He is emotional when he sees his two young daughters for the first time since the accident.
Weeks later, Zoltan meets Specialist Physiotherapist Laura who helps him stand up and begin to walk again. Eventually he is fitted for a prosthetic limb and is now home, getting back to work, learning to drive and training for a London-Brighton bike ride - a huge mental & physical achievement for Zoltan.
Karl
In episodes 2,3 & 4
42-year-old Karl is a father of two and lives in Kent. He is close to his wife Lulu and his two children, but he lives separately.
Whilst on the way to work, his van collided with the back of a lorry on the M25.
After being trapped for over two hours, Karl is flown by Kent Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance to King’s Major Trauma Centre as a ‘code red’. He has an urgent blood transfusion, fractures to his legs and severe injuries to his lower arm.
Karl’s wife Lulu describes him as a loving Dad who does his ‘utmost for his children’. On hearing about the accident – her worst fear was having to tell the kids that ‘their dad’s not coming home’. Lulu and son Brendan arrive and are heartbroken on seeing Karl’s injuries.
It’s a challenging case for orthopaedic surgeon Ibraheim as Karl has a complex femur fracture and significant chest trauma which could impact his ability to breathe whilst anaesthetised during the operation.
Following the surgery, Lulu becomes tearful and is shocked to hear that Karl is in intensive care, where he will be kept on a ventilator to assist with his breathing.
After waking up on the ward Karl is visited by his sister, and tells her ‘he thought he was a goner’ and can’t wait to get home and cuddle his kids. He is now home, and like so many patients who’ve experienced major trauma, is on a long journey of recovery.
June
In episodes 3 & 4
June is 87 years old and, since her husband passed away, has lived alone in her home in South East London. She’s been there for 56 years, and whilst she struggles living alone, she says her neighbours are ‘always there’ providing support.
She says she was ‘never one for sitting around’ and had a life full of travel, all over the world.
She stumbled whilst stepping into a taxi outside her home and fell, causing a significant injury to her ankle.
June is chatty and stoic, and concerned she is ‘being a nuisance’ but is quickly reassured by Advanced Paramedic Practitioner James.
James gives June strong pain relief for the open ankle fracture before realigning the bone and taking her to King’s Major Trauma Centre where she’s urgently assessed by the orthopaedic team.
Surgery to fix her ankle goes well and she begins to walk again, assisted by the physiotherapy team.
After recovering from her operation, despite not wanting to leave the home she loves, June later decides to move into assisted accommodation – so she’s ‘always got someone there’.
Joe
In episodes 3 & 4
61-year-old Joe is a former soldier who lives in Kent. He served for 15 years in the British Army and undertook tours around the world. He describes being brought up in children’s homes when he was young, and his first job was in Smithfield Market.
He has a close family network and regularly sees best friend and ex-wife Jacky and daughter Kerry, who describes him as proud, kind and family oriented.
Whilst Joe is proud to have served his country on operations, he has developed PTSD and Jacky thinks this is related to his dependency on alcohol. She thinks the drink helps him when ‘we can’t in that way’ .
Joe is brought to St Mary’s Hospital after falling 20 feet down an escalator at King’s Cross Station and losing consciousness. Doctors are worried by Joe’s behaviour – he’s jovial but in some distress. His behaviour could be a sign of being intoxicated but also a sign of a serious brain injury. ‘Time is life in this scenario’ so he’s sent for an urgent CT scan and an x-ray of his open wrist fracture.
Daughter Kerry visits Joe on the ward and is shocked when she sees her Dad’s head laceration and hears that the bone in his wrist had been ‘sticking out’. She masks her concern, joking with him instead.
Neurosurgeons rule out surgical intervention on the brain, so fixing the fracture of his wrist becomes the priority.
After a complex operation, Joe is recovering but sad not to be at his grand-daughter’s 18th birthday party. He video calls her from his hospital bed and tells his family he loves them all.
He now lives in a new home in a British Legion community and with the support of the family, is recovering well.
Daniil
In episodes 1,2 & 4
20-year-old Daniil is flown to St George’s Hospital by Kent Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance after his motorbike collided with an HGV. On arrival, he has a seizure whilst on the hospital’s helipad.
In resus, scans show some bleeding and bruising on the brain as well as broken bones in Daniil’s spine and blood in his lungs. He’s taken to the intensive care unit where he is in an induced coma and on a ventilator for four days.
On the fifth day, his worried Mum, Dasha, is there as he wakes up. They mean the world to each other and he describes the moment he woke to see his Mum next to him as ‘the best feeling’.
A week after his accident, Daniil is awake on the ward and a repeat CT scan has shown his brain bleed is improving. Due to the brain injury, he has a long and uncertain recovery ahead, but Mum Dasha is grateful to the staff who “just know what to do and they saved my son”.
Daniil is now home and living near Guildford, loving his job as a fabricator/welder. Due to his frontal lobe brain injury, he has been unable to drive, but despite feelings of frustration, knows he is lucky to be alive.
Jacob
In episode 4.
25-year-old Jacob is a gym manager, personal trainer and plays for a vegan rugby team. He was at a rugby tournament in South West London when he suffered a severe femur injury and leg deformity after being tackled.
Advanced Paramedic Practitioner Steve is on scene assessing the injury and Jacob is taken straight to St George’s Major Trauma Centre for specialist treatment. En route, Jacob is anxious as he describes losing sensation in his lower leg and toes.
On hearing that Jacob is a personal trainer, orthopaedic surgeon Tim, a former rugby player himself, says it could be an injury that's going to affect Jacob’s livelihood due to the extent and severity of his injury. The priority is to manipulate the knee back into position, and that will place the nerves and blood vessels in the best position to supply the lower part of his leg. Jacob is given ketamine to help manage his pain and further assessments reveal he’ll need complex surgery to repair and reconstruct the knee ligaments.
His friends visit him in hospital and he calls his Mum, who jokes ‘you don’t things by halves’ whilst reassuring him she’ll be there soon.
Later, he exercises at home reflecting on the mental struggle of recovery, and his hopes to start playing rugby again soon.
He recently had a second surgery to repair a knee ligament. He is proud of his recovery and how hard he worked on his rehab therapy and hopes to be running again in 2 to 3 month’s time. He has not yet been back on the rugby pitch but remains passionate about both sport and veganism and recently secured a new job working for the Vegan Society.
Jorge
In episode 4.
46-year-old Jorge (pron. Hor-hay) is Columbian and lives with his wife in North London. He previously worked as a handyman.
He has arrived at North Middlesex University Hospital, a trauma unit in North London, after his son Juan found him on the floor at home. Jorge had fallen, knocked his head and was bleeding from his forehead.
Jorge has severe neck pain and a CT scan shows a broken bone in his neck, close to his spinal cord. Emergency Medicine registrar Allam sends Jorge’s MRI scans to the neurosurgical team at the Royal London Major Trauma centre.
At the Royal London, spinal surgeon Brett and spinal fellow Daniel diagnose an unstable fracture that needs surgery. Jorge is at risk of being paralysed because he’s ‘broken the spine and torn all the ligaments that support the spine as well’.
Son Juan waits nervously until, days later, Jorge takes his first steps after surgery, supported by a physiotherapist. He is now at home, slowly recovering, supported by his wife.