009: The Tractor and the Motorcycle
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Firstly, I want to wish you a happy Christmas as you wind down for the festive period.
Over the next couple of weeks, I hope you are able to spend some time reflecting on your journey this year. Everything that’s happened, good or bad, has made you a different person than the one you were on the 1st January 2021. It’s important to reflect on the times where you’ve shown resilience, determination and courage in the face of adversity.
I also wanted to thank you for being a part of ‘The Natives’. I have enjoyed every minute of creating these entries for you and it’s quickly become one of my favourite things to do. I’ll be taking a break over the next couple weeks but rest assured, I have lots coming up for you in the New Year.
Have a happy Christmas and see you in 2022.
Thank you,
James
THE TRACTOR AND THE MOTORCYCLE
Last week, Kirsty and I made the annual pilgrimage to a local farm to buy our Christmas Tree. We knew we wanted a Fir and not a Spruce. We also knew it had to be less than 6ft tall and less than 90cm wide. Our first choice was luminous green. I thought the colour was perhaps a little strong, but by the time we’d assessed the other options, this was the tree for us. We had it wrapped in netting, paid for it in the shop and we loaded it into the car to head home.
As we drove down the road, our path was blocked by an enormous tractor and trailer. The driver was just getting out of the cab so we slowed to a stop. I noticed there was something black on the floor in front of the tractor.
Had he hit a cow?
No, the driver hadn’t.
On his back, in the middle of the road, shaking in front of the 10 tonne tractor, was a motorcycle rider.
Action Stations
We left the car and got to work. Kirsty, a fully qualified and exceptional doctor, attended to the casualty. She worked quickly to keep his head still in order to prevent paralysis and any risk of life-changing injury. Also on the scene was a Midwife and a GP - as well as their partners - who were all passersby in the right place at the right time.
I repositioned our car to protect the casualty and the off-duty medics from the danger of passing drivers - all of which seemed to have other places to be. I then worked with the partner’s of the GP and the Midwife to close down the scene and ensure proper traffic management. A passerby kindly stopped to give me a high-vis jacket, which was very much appreciated, and as a team we worked together to help the stricken rider.
Before long, we could hear the cavalry roaring down the road with sirens ablaze. Two police cars, an ambulance and a Paramedic Scene Support Unit took over the junction. We dutifully handed over our traffic management to the police, whilst the paramedics tended to the rider.
Tony, the rider in question, had made a mistake that afternoon. He’d gone to overtake the tractor at 50mph as the tractor was turning into a junction. The motorcycle ended up under the front of the tractor and Tony was thrown clear. His helmet took a knock on impact and he had a tingling sensation in his arm, but other than that, Tony was almost completely unscathed. As we left the scene, he had stood up, he was smiling, lamenting the damage to his bike but largely in very good spirits.
Somehow, Tony got to walk away from that incident. He will get to spend Christmas with his family this year and he will live to ride another day.
For me, it made me reflect on what’s really important in life. It seems like an awful cliché, but actually, when we’re in the thick of it, it’s easy to misplace our awareness of what’s truly important.
As we draw towards the end of the year, hold your loved ones close, have a happy Christmas, remember those that are no longer with us and raise a toast to our emergency services. They are always there for us in our time of need.
James
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