A commando has been honoured by the Royal Humane Society, after his swift actions saved a life.
When Paul Farrington lost control of his bike and slid into a barbed wire fence, his femoral artery was torn. But action by combat medic Mark Lynch saved him from certain death.
Lynch, 32, explained what happened “We were out on the bikes and Paul was following me because it was his first ride. He was behind me until I spotted him in my mirrors, sliding across the road behind me. When I got to him, he was standing next to his bike holding his groin.”
"I was about five yards away from him and asked if he was OK. He said, 'No,' moved his hands and a fountain of blood from his leg hit me."
Mark pushed Paul, 36, to the ground and bent his leg to his chest. He then tried to stop the flow of blood by jamming his fist into the wound. Mark added "I tried to find the two ends of his artery but they'd vanished inside him, so I put as much pressure on the wound as possible. I could see from the amount of blood on the ground that he didn't have long."
Two ambulances arrived after 30 minutes and he helped paramedics until a trauma team from Dundee's Ninewells Hospital got there. Paul needed a series of operation and 20 units of blood to repair his leg.
Dick Wilkinson, secretary of the society, said of the award "Mark was faced with a horrific situation in which Paul was in imminent danger of bleeding to death. Fortunately, Mark knew what to do and kept a cool head. He managed to stem the bleeding until the rescue services arrived. But for his efforts, Paul would certainly have died. He richly deserves the award."
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks