In July 2023, whilst on holiday in Wales, Joanna Hicks and her friend went for their usual morning swim at Newgale beach.
However, Joanna, a confident and strong swimmer, was caught in a rip current and got into difficulty.
She said: “I remember lots of waves and thinking I am in trouble here, but I don’t remember anything after that.”
Her friend Philippa managed to swim back to shore and she and her partner Bob called 999 for help.
Multiple agencies responded, including RNLI lifeguards and lifeboats from two stations along the coast, a coastguard helicopter and ambulances.
After being in the water for around 40 minutes, Matty McLeod a RNLI lifeguard found Joanna and pulled her ashore. Joanna went into cardiac arrest and Wales Air Ambulance was dispatched to give her the critical care interventions she needed to survive.
The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) medics on board Wales Air Ambulance were Critical Care Consultant Mike Slattery and Critical Care Practitioner Josh Eason. The team attended by air, flown by Pilot James Gardiner.
Joanna, 64, said: “Newgale is a very long beach and I think it was difficult for the boats to find me, but thankfully and amazingly I was told one of the lifeguards, Matty McLeod, had run to the beach and found me. I had been in the water a while. He said I was lifeless, floating face down and blue.
“He brought me ashore and was joined by other rescue services including, and crucially for me, the Wales Air Ambulance.”
Joanna was extremely cold, so the medics tried to warm her up with a thermal blanket.
Her heart had stopped three times, and her chance of survival was just 1%.
Following resuscitation attempts, the Wales Air Ambulance provided Joanna with a pre-hospital anaesthetic and placed her on a ventilator. This form of life support enabled the team to take over her breathing, and to minimise the risk of long-term brain damage.
They then set up an infusion of adrenaline to keep her blood pressure from falling too low.
The treatments Joanna received would usually only be available within a hospital setting, but thanks to the advanced clinicians on board Wales Air Ambulance, Joanna received the care she needed to survive on the beach.
Joanna, who is from London, said: “The Wales Air Ambulance medic said because the sea was actually quite cold, my body would have shut down in the sea. That helped me, so they had more chance of reviving me after me being in the freezing cold state.
“Although, I think it made it more difficult for them to apply the drugs to me because I was told the body has to be warm for that to work properly. They did a very skilful job to help me.”
Whilst under constant monitoring, the air ambulance crew airlifted Joanna to Glangwili Hospital.
She spent 10 days fighting for her life in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Joanna continued: “I came round in the ICU, having been in an induced coma on life support, apparently none the worse for wear. Everyone seemed to be astonished that I had survived and seemed alright.”
After three weeks, Joanna was discharged from hospital and spent time in a rehab facility closer to her home, she then stayed with her friends until she was well enough to return to her apartment in London.
Earlier this year Joanna met one of the Wales Air Ambulance medics, Josh, who treated her on the beach and accompanied her in the helicopter to the hospital.
She said: “It was a wonderful and joyful experience to meet Josh. He told me more about what they’d had to do to try and save me on the beach and really how close I had been to not surviving.
“These were details that I had not heard before, and though hard to process, they made me think more about the incredible skill and professionalism of the medics, and the extraordinary service the Wales Air Ambulance provided in delivering such exceptional lifesaving expertise right to me, just when I needed it most.
“I cannot thank these amazing, truly impressive people enough. Without them I really would not be here today to tell the tale.”
Joanna’s visit was organised by the Charity’s Patient Liaison Nurse, Jo Yeoman, who has been supporting her since the incident.
Jo Yeoman said: “Joanna has made a remarkable recovery, but it has taken a long time for her to come to terms with this life-changing event. Having no recollection about that day, my role has been to help her to piece together the events of this incredibly traumatic experience.
“A critical part of her recovery has involved meeting the people who were involved in her care because each one has played a vital role in her survival. I was able to connect Joanna with Josh, the Critical Care Practitioner who attended her at the scene which was a hugely rewarding experience for them both. It’s been a privilege to witness Joanna’s progress over this time, to provide support and see her return to everyday life.”
Remarkably Joanna is physically fine and has bravely returned to the beach for the first time to meet some of the people who helped save her life. She said: “You don’t imagine this happening and I know just how lucky I have been, and how much I owe the amazing people who came to my rescue and who cared for me.”
Joanna has returned to her regular volunteering at Kew Gardens arboretum and to indoor swimming last year.
She said: “I have yet to swim in the sea, and this will happen, but I guess it might take a little bit more time.”
Joanna’s story is a shining example of how everyone has a part to play in the chain of survival when someone’s life is on the line.
Reflecting on the Wales Air Ambulance and what the team did for her that day, Joanna said:
“I was given a 1% chance of survival on the beach that day, and if the Wales Air Ambulance helicopter had not flown the medics right to me, I would not be alive today. I cannot thank them enough for what they did for me.
“It still astonishes me that this service, which was so vital to my survival, is in fact a charity that relies solely on donations.”
The Wales Air Ambulance Charity relies solely on public donations to raise £11.2 million every year. Help to keep their helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road this summer, enabling them to save more lives like Joanna’s by visiting www.walesairambulance.com/donate.
