Les Pujols Air Ambulance

My name is Terry. Before March 2016 my main hobby was rock climbing. On the 19th of March 2016 that all changed when I went climbing with my friend in the Ariege region of the French Pyrenees. I attempted a relatively hard climb. Most people who don't climb won't understand this , but I had just placed a quickdraw close to the top of the route. I hadn't clipped my rope in, when the rock that I was holding broke off. Luckily the rock didn't kill me or my friend (the belayer). I fell approximately 10m and was rendered unconscious. I had a broken arm, broken collar bone, serious rope burn on my hands, a large gash under my chin and some cuts and bruising in different areas of my body. At this time no-one knew I had suffered a very serious TBI (traumatic brain injury).  Luckily my friend knew the emergency number to ring. He used my mobile phone, which he saw me using earlier to ring my wife. Thank goodness for mobile phones!!! The crag was difficult to access and required a helicopter to rescue me. I believe the air ambulance team arrived very quickly. They said they had to slap my hands to make me let go of the rope. Apparently, I was very agitated and it took four grown men to hold me down, so they could intubate me. They worked very quickly to get me stabilised before flying me to Purpan Hospital in Toulouse. I believe it was this quick reaction time that saved my life! The hospital placed me into a medically induced coma. After a few weeks I needed a tracheotomy.  Eventually I came out of my coma with absolutely no idea what had happened. I still  can't remember, but memory loss is a common side affect of brain injury. In total I was in two hospitals and one rehab clinic for a period covering 6 months, after which I returned home. I had to re-learn how to talk, walk, write, drink, eat/swallow and many other things that come naturally to anyone else. I lost the peripheral vision in my right eye, due to my accident. My struggles now are my eye sight and my memory, although my rehab continues. I am currently trying to get fit by running every other day.... soon to be every day!! I went through a phase of not knowing when to stop eating and let's just say it wasn't good for my waistline! Ha ha! I would like to raise money for Les Pujols Air Ambulance who played a very important part in saving my life. I cannot fault the French medical teams either. They were amazing at the time of my accident and they are amazing now. Thanks also go out to my amazingly supportive family (I love you all) and friends, but most of all to my wife Sandy. I don't know where i'd be today if it weren't for her love and support through the hardest of times. My current goal is to run the local voie verte (old railway line) which is about 42km long. I've never run a marathon before, so this will be a great challenge. I owe them so much and they do an absolutely amazing job! Please will you help me achieve my goal. Thank you. Terry.