Tyler James’ story: a curiously bent arm and a trip on the Ambucopter!

Ouch! That’s not how an arm should look!

After some expert treatment in our Emergency Department, Theatre and on the ward though, ten year old Tyler James’ arm is on the mend.

He fractured his lower arm after falling off an adventure playground in Gainsborough.

Tyler James’ mum Jodie, a Palliative Care Nurse, said: “I was at work and had a call to say that he had been injured. When I got there a land ambulance had arrived but Tyler James was in agony. They decided that he should be transported by air and he was so excited about going in a helicopter!” He was transported by Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance.

Tyler James has Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is a developmental disorder that can affect communication and behaviour.

His mum said: “The air ambulance crew were absolute heroes. When they found out Tyler James had ASD, they were just brilliant with them. When they first met, he had already diagnosed himself and was telling them “I’ve broken this arm and got a compound fracture!

“Gainsborough is about an hour from Sheffield Children’s by road for us, but the air ambulance made it in 11 minutes. Otherwise we would have had to go to another hospital. The only downside was that there wasn’t a helipad for us to land on, so we had to land in Weston Park instead and cross the road.”

On arrival at our Emergency Department, which is the designated Major Trauma Centre for children in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, Tyler James was soon moved through to the Theatres to have his arm operated on. He had broken both of the bones in his lower arm.

Jodie said: “They were amazing. There were lots of questions to answer but not one of the team spoke over each other – which Tyler James finds very difficult due to his ASD. I couldn’t thank them all enough.

“Everyone took the time to talk to Tyler James. He needs you to listen to him, to the end of whatever he is saying, and everyone in the team did. I couldn’t complain about a single thing.”

Tyler James stayed for one night on a ward to recuperate before being able to travel home – this time by car.

“There’s going to be follow-up appointments over the next six to nine months until his arm is fully back to normal but we know we’re getting the best care possible.”

Tyler James is now planning on fundraising to support The Children’s Hospital Charity appeal to build a helipad to say thank you to the teams which treated him on the day of his accident and during his follow up care.

You can find out more about the appeal here.