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National
David Huntley

Man almost lost his leg after horror fall through garage roof in Darlington

A worker almost lost his leg after suffering a horror fall through a garage roof in County Durham.

Roofer, Dan Ranson was working in Darlington on October 19, last year, when he fell through a garage roof. The 46-year-old had taken the full force of the fall on his right leg and sustained a double compound break to his tibia, as well as suffering a collapsed lung.

Following the fall, the Great North Air Ambulance Service (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 Dan's leg before airlifting him to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

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Due to the severity of his injuries, there were fears Dan's could have lost his leg, but after three major operations it was saved and he’s now on the road to recovery. As a sign of gratitude to the GNAAS teams, Dan's sister, Sarah Macmurdie, 48, has decided to undertake a mammoth task of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in order to raise funds for the charity.

A nurse is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro this year to raise money for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS)

She 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.”

Sarah, who lives in Warwick, travelled up to the North East to be by her brother’s side following his fall 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.”

Dan Ranson's injury to his leg (GNAAS)

Sarah has previously taken part in the Yorkshire Three Peaks and Jurassic Coast challenge, and now plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in September to raise money and awareness of GNAAS. She added: “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.”

You can sponsor Sarah here.

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