Bereavement support
EAAA’s Aftercare support also extends to bereaved families to offer specialist emotional and practical support following an incident in which EAAA attended.
Wendy and Jack are one family who has benefited from EAAA's bereavement support
Wendy Jinkerson and her son, Jack, who is now aged 13, are one of the families who have benefitted from this support since losing their beloved husband and Dad, Stef, five years ago following a cardiac arrest. Wendy has kindly shared the difference that EAAA’s dedicated team of Aftercare clinicians have made, supporting her and Jack as they navigated a new path.
“When EAAA’s doctor and critical care paramedic arrived, I desperately hoped they’d be able to save Stef but, in my heart of hearts, I knew he had already gone. The crew, doctor Natalie and critical care paramedic Ben were brilliant; they explained everything and treated us with such kindness. A few weeks later, I wanted to reach out to say thank you and I was put in touch with the charity’s Aftercare team.
“I spoke with Lisa, one of the clinicians; we talked about how Jack and I were doing and then we arranged a home visit.
“The question of whether I could have done anything more to help Stef had played on my mind, so one thing I found particularly helpful was Lisa helping to explain the results of Stef’s post-mortem. As a result, I understood the procedures and interventions that had taken place, and I realised that it was instant; Stef had just gone.
“Jack wanted to raise some money for EAAA, and he and his school did a sponsored walk on what would have been Stef’s birthday. Lisa and an EAAA colleague came along and the walk of five miles raised over £3,500. It was so special to have EAAA there.
“There has always been support from the team, phone calls and emails – they even arranged for Jack and I to visit EAAA’s Cambridge base. Jack loved meeting pilot Eduardo, who was so kind and took a lot of time to chat with him. We also met up again with Dr Natalie; she talked through some of the equipment used by EAAA, showed us the ultrasound machine, and we had the chance to say thank you – this was really important, and it meant such a lot to Jack.
“We keep in touch with the Aftercare team, and I am now part of EAAA’s Patient Forum Group and their private peer support group on Facebook. This is a non-judgemental, safe space and I feel free to say whatever I need to. It might be in the middle of the night but people, some of whom I have never met, always offer support, which really does mean so much.
“It feels like a family, and East Anglian Air Ambulance is the glue that holds us together. Jack especially has had a lot of deal with, but we will always have a special bond with EAAA.”