HUMBLE HEROES
Brave medics who saved mum’s life after she was smashed by two trains dedicate Who Cares Wins gong to her
MEDICS who saved a woman hit by two Tube trains paid a touching tribute to her at The Sun’s Who Cares Wins awards last night.
TV star James Corden wiped away a tear as the winners of the 999 Hero gong dedicated their award to brave Sarah de Lagarde.
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Dr Benjamin Marriage and Kevin Cuddon from London’s Air Ambulance Charity were reunited with mum-of-two Sarah, 45, at our glittering ceremony at The Roundhouse in North London.
Accepting their gong from James, consultant anaesthetist and pre-hospital flight doctor Benjamin, 42, said: “We would like to dedicate this award both to Sarah and everyone else involved in trauma care.”
Advanced paramedic Kevin, also 42, thanked Sarah for nominating them and hailed her as “an inspiration”.
He said: “Thank you so much for this amazing privilege, to receive this honour, we want to say a big thanks to everyone involved to get us here today.”
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Sarah, of Camden, North London, slipped getting off the Tube last September and was hit by a train as it left the station, before being run over by another one pulling in.
Sarah — who has said she “could have died at least ten times that night” — suffered catastrophic injuries.
Surgeons later had to amputate her arm and leg.
She had lay bleeding on the tracks for 15 minutes until a passer-by heard her cries at High Barnet underground station.
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Sarah was semi-responsive and Kevin had to crawl under the train to help the London Fire Brigade get her out.
The heroes had to carry her about 30 metres under the train before putting her on a device to lift her up to the platform.
Her right foot had been amputated at the ankle and her right arm was separated from the shoulder.
The crew, who also included flight paramedic Chris Doyle, 44 — who could not attend last night’s bash — applied tourniquets on both limbs.
Sarah said: “That is what saved me or I would have bled out for sure. All this happened on the train platform.
“I remember saying, ‘Do you mind hurrying up as I’m going to die right here’.
“Dr Marriage was holding my hand and said, ‘You can’t die right now, we have lots of people on the platform and they are all here to save you. Hold on a bit longer and we will get you out’. I remember his calming words as if it were yesterday.”
Last night humble Kevin said: “We were really just doing our jobs.
“Sarah is the true hero. Most people who suffer these sorts of injuries do not make the comeback that she has.
“She is here, living life, enjoying life and not only that she has been busy raising money for London’s Air Ambulance Charity.”
An emotional James, who is back in the UK after eight years living in Hollywood presenting the Late Late Show, told the star-studded audience: “Tonight shows how special the NHS is. You only realise how truly brilliant and unique it is.
“I’ve just come back from a country where healthcare isn’t something that is readily available for every single person.
“We should be so proud of the NHS. We all hope that somebody will be there for us in an emergency, be there to hold our hand to reassure us, to be a friend to tell us that everything will be alright.”
Afterwards, James chatted to the medics backstage.
He said: “It’s just incredible and very humbling to meet these people. They do the most amazingly brilliant things.”
The Gavin and Stacey star added: “The NHS is the biggest national treasure we have any day of the week.”
Sarah told James he was her “favourite presenter” and was thrilled he had handed her life-savers their award.
Sarah, an asset manager, who has a prosthetic leg and recently became the first person in the UK to operate a new £250,000 AI bionic arm that can read her mind, added: “I’m a big fan of his so I couldn’t be happier.”
Sarah, whose children are 12 and eight, added: “The fact that I am here and alive and able to watch my children grow up is amazing. I owe these three incredible men my life.”
James also chatted to the London Air Ambulance Charity medics about the daily pressures they face.
He said: “I didn’t know that it almost entirely relies on public donations.
“I didn’t realise that the running costs of £50million are all from the public. That’s an amazing thing. So we’re gonna stay in touch and see if I can help.”
The Sun’s Who Cares Wins awards in partnership with NHS Charities Together and sponsored by the National Lottery celebrates health professionals, volunteers and charity workers who go above and beyond to help their patients.
Last night’s ceremony was hosted by TV favourite Davina McCall.
Guests included Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, boxing champion Anthony Joshua, Myleene Klass and Gary Lineker.
Speaking earlier in the night, James said: “It’s amazing to be here.
“A lot of awards shows you go to, it’s hard to say how useful or relevant they are so any chance you get to celebrate people who have done actual incredible things is worth it.
“When I read the story of the people I’m giving the award to tonight, I couldn’t believe it.
“It blew me away, it’s a wonderful thing to celebrate people who have made a true difference.
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“My mum is a social worker and my younger sister works in social services, so I understand the idea of social care.”
Other heroes and their amazing stories will be revealed when the ceremony is shown on Channel 4 and All 4 at 6.30pm this Sunday.
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