With four in ten lifesaving missions funded by a Gift in a Will, legacy giving is crucial to Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s continued operations. Mike Lewis, from Bewdley, a former patient of the lifesaving service, knows all too well the vital role that Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s pre-hospital medical team can play in patients’ outcome. In 2018, aged 76, Mike fell from a set of ladders at his home. Unfortunately, he broke all the ribs down his left side, which resulted in him sustaining a life-threatening injury, a punctured lung.

Mike Lewis says: “I vaguely remember asking my wife, Andrea, if anybody was coming and within minutes, I heard the noise of a helicopter in the distance. The next thing I knew I saw the red trousers of the critical care paramedics walking towards me.” Mike needed urgent treatment and the critical care team on-board Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s Strensham aircraft transported him to the most appropriate trauma centre for his injuries – Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

He said: “I was in so much pain and struggling to breathe with the punctured lung. I know that without Midlands Air Ambulance Charity coming to my rescue on the day of my accident that I simply would not be here. They saved my life.” Since the fall, Mike and his wife of 54 years, Andrea, have done all they can to fundraise and support the helicopter emergency medical service that he dearly owes his life too and has pledged to leave the charity a gift in his Will. 

Mike explains: “I brought the subject up with Andrea and discussed how I wanted to leave a gift in my Will. It’s not much but it’s one of the many ways in which I can continue supporting the charity that saved my life, even after I’m gone.”

Emma Gray, fundraising and marketing director for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, adds: “Legacy donations like Mike’s really help boost our income generation and help make future missions possible.

“We have a range of services available to those considering leaving a Gift in their Will, including a free Will writing scheme with a number of fully vetted solicitors based in the counties we serve signed up to offer the service in partnership with us. There is also an online free Will writing scheme available to take advantage of.”

For anyone interested can visit: www.midlandsairambulance.com/gifts-in-wills to find out more.