‘You will never know how much you helped Izzy and our family’

Gary Ross’ daughter, Izzy, was hit in Newmarket while on her way home from school on January 6, by a vehicle that allegedly made no attempt to stop after the incident.

Despite suffering numerous injuries, she managed to walk all the way back home, a good fifteen minutes away.

Once Izzy arrived home, Gary immediately called 999 and two LIVES Community First Responders were dispatched and arrived at Gary’s house just minutes later.

Rich and Liz, the two LIVES Community First Responders who attended Izzy, were initially confused when they arrived on scene.

Liz said: “We knew we were going to a road traffic collision incident, so we didn’t know what to expect when we arrived at a residential address.”

On arrival, they were met with Gary and his daughter, who was understandably very upset and in shock.

Rich said: “As we didn’t arrive at the scene of the incident, it can be difficult to comprehend what has actually happened as there is no scene to assess.

“We initially tried to understand exactly what had happened so we could assess the patient’s injuries.”

Liz added: “My main concern was the injury to her head, but our years of training has also given us an understanding that children compensate a lot for their injuries and illnesses; the worry that she could also become more severely unwell had to stay in the back of my mind, luckily she didn’t.”

Rich and Liz talked to Izzy and helped calm and reassure her, before assessing and treating her multiple injuries.

The ambulance service arrived shortly after, and transferred Izzy to hospital.

The youngster is now recovering well, despite serious injuries including losing her front teeth, cuts, and swelling to her forehead.

Meanwhile, members of the community set-up a crowd-funding page to help raise money to pay for the dental work Izzy needed from the injuries she suffered.

However, whilst they were extremely grateful, Gary and Izzy have generously decided to donate these funds to LIVES and cover the cost of Izzy’s treatment themselves.

Gary presented the cheque, worth £610, to Rich and Liz last Thursday (February 27).

Gary said: “My daughter, Izzy, was involved in a road traffic incident last month.

“Her injuries were significant, but she still managed to get home.

“I called 999 immediately and within minutes two first responders were in my house treating my daughter.”

Gary expresses how Rich and Liz acted “impeccably” while treating his daughter, and did everything they could to help reassure her and the rest of the family.

Gary continued: “The level of care we received made the fact that we discovered that they are volunteers even more unbelievable.

“We hope that most people will never need to see them in action, but we are relieved that if you do indeed need them, you will be in safe hands.” .

The thanks from Gary and his family was passed on to Rich and Liz, who were overwhelmed by the response.

Liz said: “We don’t often receive praise, but we don’t do this for the glory, we do this to help our community.

“We hardly ever find out what happens to the patients we see after handing over to the ambulance service so it was nice to know the outcome as Gary kept updating social media and we knew how his daughter was recovering.

“Although it was a horrible incident to attend, especially for Gary and family, it’s nice to know some positivity has come out of it and Izzy is recovering well.”

Rich and Liz are part of an army of Community First Responders who volunteer for LIVES. Rich originally joined the organisation in 2005, with Liz joining in 2012.

They are both extremely passionate about LIVES and supporting their local communities, and have both progressed to become Level 4 Community First Responders, meaning they can attend a variety of different emergencies including some of the most serious cases, including those involved in road traffic collisions and paediatric emergencies.

Rich also works for LIVES as one of the Operational Support Managers, and Liz changed career after volunteering for LIVES and recently qualified as a nurse.

Rich, Liz, and all at LIVES also want to extend thanks to Gary, Izzy, and the rest of their family for expressing their gratitude and showing the support for the charity, at such a difficult time.

• If you wish to make a donation to LIVES, or find out more about their important work, visit www.lives.org.uk.

• As reported previously, a 32-year-old man was arrested and released under investigation. If you have any information, call 101 and quote incident 306 of January 6.