Lewie’s Story

What started out as a normal walk to the coast with friends for 15-year-old Lewie Cole ended up as a life-threatening situation, when he fell 15 feet down a cliff in Bude.

On 21^st August 2023, Lewie and his twin brother Logan – plus a few mates – headed over to the cliffs to watch the sunrise. The boys were doing some rock climbing, when one of the rocks gave way underneath Lewie. The part he was holding onto came lose and he slipped, falling into a cove at the base of the cliff.

Logan did a controlled slide part way down to try and reach his brother, but it was too treacherous to get down. Panicking, he managed to dial 999.

Cornwall Air Ambulance was already tasked elsewhere when they were diverted to the scene as part of a multi-agency response, with Critical Care Paramedics Steve Garvey and Pete Storer, and Pilot Liv Milles, on board your AW169 helicopter.

Both an RNLI lifeboat and Coastguard Search & Rescue helicopter crew carried out searches for Lewie, who was in the water and trapped in an inaccessible location. After locating him, one of the winch crew was lowered down, they hooked Lewie to the cable and he was winched to safety at the top of the cliff in a complex operation, where the Cornwall Air Ambulance crew were waiting.

Lewie had been in the water for around 50 minutes, he was cold, wet, hypothermic and drifting in and out of consciousness. Due to suffering a head injury, Lewie was combative with a reduced Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) – a medical measurement of conscious levels.

Steve and Pete moved Lewie next to the aircraft where they cut him out of his wet clothes and covered him in a heated blanket. Steve canulated Lewie and gained IV access to administer ketamine, primarily as a pain relief but also to help calm him down. The crew fully immobilised Lewie, applied a pelvic binder and placed him onto a scoop stretcher to load him into the helicopter. Lewie had low blood pressure, reduced oxygen saturations and it was difficult to feel his pulse – he was given high flow oxygen and also IV fluids during the flight to Derriford Hospital to help stabilise him.

Air Operations Officer Steve Garvey, who was on his last operational shift on his birthday, said: “ We were concerned that Lewie had suffered severe traumatic injuries to both his head and spine, and that he could be experiencing internal bleeding. It was vital that we stabilised him and conveyed him to Derriford, the region’s major trauma centre, as quickly as possibly for that urgent, onward care.”

Lewie said: “I remember waking up on the rocks, I was face down in the water and a wave came and hit my face, I could move my neck and I could see Logan on the middle part of the cliff panicking. I was shouting for help and trying to crawl out of the water because I was cold but every time I grabbed the rocks, a wave came over. Then I passed out and woke to someone putting their arm around me and being lifted up, then next woke up in Derriford and I remember all my mates being there.”

Lewie tore two ligaments in his wrist, broke his hand in three places, broke his thumb, right elbow, right ankle, he shattered the left side of his pelvis, broke two out of the seven plates in his neck, broke five out of 12 plates in his back, broke several ribs, punctured a lung, severed an artery, lost half a kidney, damaged his liver and also his spleen.

At Derriford, Lewie underwent surgery where he had metal plates inserted to help repair his pelvis. After three days he was transferred to Bristol and spent a total of six weeks in hospital. He was fitted with a full neck and back brace and had to temporarily use a wheelchair. His recovery has been going well, but he still has some mobility issues with his left ankle and suffers from nerve pain.

“They saved my life”, said Lewie. “I wouldn’t be here without them or without Logan, so I am very grateful and thankful for their services. I always donate in the Cornwall Air Ambulance pots.”

Logan added: “It was weird, I sort of knew he would be alright and he wouldn’t die, I cried when they told me he was in a medically induced coma and was steady. He would have died if they weren’t there, it would have been like losing a part of me, like my other half. So I’m thankful he’s still here.”

Less than a year later, the boys have completed their GCSEs and have been to visit the airbase to thank Steve and Pete for saving Lewie’s life.

Steve added: “Lewie was incredibly unwell that day, it is remarkable to see him walk into the airbase less than a year later to meet myself and Pete again, and under much better circumstances!”

Lewie and Logan have both become Heli2 Heroes, meaning their names will feature on the base of your second AW169 helicopter.

You can become a Heli2 hero too, and help us to land a second lifesaving helicopter, here: https://cornwallairambulancetrust.org/product/heli2-heroes/