Man who suffered ‘progressively worse’ headache had three brain aneurysms at 36

He woke up with a ‘crushing’ pain in his head and dialled 999, who contacted the life-saving East Anglian Air Ambulance

A Peterborough man who suffered a haemorrhage and three brain aneurysms returned to normal life just a year after his incident thanks to the East Anglian Air Ambulance. Jonathan Moran, who was 36 at the time, came home from work on a Friday in September 2022 with a headache that got “progressively worse” over the weekend.

On the Sunday, Mr Moran woke up at midnight with a ‘crushing’ pain in his head and called 999, who sent out an East of England Ambulance out to him as well as contacting the East Anglian Air Ambulance. Dr Ed Gold and Critical Care Paramedic Andy Bates found Mr Moran unconscious in his living room and seizing.

The crew were able to control Mr Moran’s breathing by giving him an emergency anaesthetic, as well as intubating and ventilating him before taking him to Addenbrooke’s Hospital. By putting Mr Moran into an induced coma, the air ambulance were able to save his life.

He said: “Due to the seriousness of my accident, if the air ambulance weren’t here, I wouldn’t be here. I don’t think I would’ve survived. They called the air ambulance because I was that critical. The air ambulance were able to put me into an induced coma and take control of my breathing. If they hadn’t done that, I don’t think I would’ve survived the trip to the hospital.”

Mr Moran spent nine weeks in a coma and underwent neurosurgery that left him with no memory of what had happened. After he was discharged, Mr Moran was able to get in touch with Lisa, an aftercare nurse working for the East Anglian Air Ambulance, who arranged a visit to the air base.

He added: “She arranged a base visit to meet the crew so I could meet the doctor and paramedic who came to me at the time with my family. They explained to me what had happened that evening I think that was quite vital considering I didn’t know what happened. From the moment I had hung up on 999, it was blank for weeks. All the gaps got filled in when I came here and spoke to the crew.”

When asked about the importance of the service and the impact it has on the community, Matthew Jones, the CEO of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, said: “On a basic level, it’s the number of people we treat each year. From the Cambridge base, we treat around a thousand people a year.

“That’s a thousand people who receive treatment that, in some cases, is the difference between life and death. That treatment can affect the outcome. Many patients are able to lead a normal life rather than one that is severely impaired. That’s the immediate impact.”

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Mr Moran had to go through rehabilitation to regain his eyesight and learn how to walk again. He was able to live independently at home in June 2023 and returned to work in September 2023, just a year after his incident.

The East Anglian Air Ambulance has launched an appeal to raise £8.2 million to be able to build a new air base in Fulbourn to continue providing its service after Cambridge Airport closes in 2030. Mr Moran said: “You never know when you might need them”.

He said: “I must admit I didn’t donate to the air ambulance before. I did a few other charities but since my incident, I now do a few things to help out like the lottery. I think it is vital that people donate. You never know when you might need an air ambulance.

“I didn’t come home on that Friday thinking I would need the air ambulance to come out to me. You don’t go through everyday life thinking you’ll need the air ambulance.”

Mr Jones added that having an air base in this area is “really important” to allow the air ambulance to continue its work. He said: “The need for this service in this particular location is very easy to justify. This is a very central location.

“We are really important to the people of Cambridge and Cambridgeshire but we also need to be in this location because we can reach the other counties in the region relatively easily. Within 10 minutes flight time, we can reach 1.2 million people from this location.”

To help the East Anglian Air Ambulance reach its fundraising target, you can donate through the East Anglian Air Ambulance website or by texting BASE10 or BASE20 to 70480. You can call the donation hotline on 03450669999 or by using the appeal envelopes that are being delivered to houses across the region.