Air ambulance drama for girl, seven, seriously hurt in Doncaster car collision

LIttle Kayanna Nicol had not seen the car that hit her coming.
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The youngster, aged seven at the time, had walked into the Doncaster street without looking.

The back wheel of an oncoming car caught her leg, and split it from side to side – the start of a day of drama and a helicopter airlift

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Keith Nicol, Kayanna’s shocked dad, saw the incident, in Intake, on April 10 2019. He said: “At first I thought she had just clipped the car, but when I saw the blood, I thought oh goodness this is worse than we originally thought.”

Kayanna Nicol was hurt in a collision with a car, then taken from Doncaster to Sheffield in the Yorkshire Air AmbulanceKayanna Nicol was hurt in a collision with a car, then taken from Doncaster to Sheffield in the Yorkshire Air Ambulance
Kayanna Nicol was hurt in a collision with a car, then taken from Doncaster to Sheffield in the Yorkshire Air Ambulance

“I had to switch off every single emotion in my head – I was angry with the driver and in shock that Kayanna had ran out the way she had, but it was my job to save her life.”

Kayanna had run into the road without looking. Keith scooped up Kayanna and placed her on the pavement, waiting for an ambulance.

Paramedics arrived and assessed Kayanna’s leg. It was so serious the Yorkshire Air Ambulance was dispatched.

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Keith added: “At first I thought she would be taken to the local hospital.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance visit to B Braun at ChapeltownYorkshire Air Ambulance visit to B Braun at Chapeltown
Yorkshire Air Ambulance visit to B Braun at Chapeltown

“But then they said she needed to go to Sheffield. I had been listening to the radio and heard that there had been a big smash on the M1. When I asked the paramedics how we would get there, they said don’t worry about that, the helicopter is on its way.”

Kayanna was flown to Sheffield Children’s Hospital, for a five hour operation to save her leg. Surgeons reconnected her nerves and made sure arteries were intact, and gave her a skin graft.

She wore a frame around her leg for several weeks. Despite scarring and a slight hole in her foot where nerves were repaired, Kayanna now eight, leads a normal life and hopes her scars will fade.

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Keith, said: “She received excellent attention – you hear regularly about the NHS being run down, but the care and treatment that Kayanna received was second to none. I couldn’t fault anyone, they are all brilliant people.”

* Kayanna’s story features on Helicopter ER at 9pm on Channel Really on May 4 2020.

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