Factory worker, Adrian Sobanski, from Wakefield will feature in the upcoming episode of Yorkshire Air 999, airing on Really at 9PM on Friday, February 14th. The episode showcases the rapid response of Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s (YAA) critical care team after Adrian suffered a serious accident at work, which left him with life-threatening injuries.
What started as a routine morning at work took a devastating turn when Adrian lost his grip while using an angle grinder, slicing deep into his upper right arm. At first, he didn’t realise the severity of the injury—only that he could no longer feel his fingers. As shock set in, he switched off the power tool and noticed blood rapidly soaking his sleeve. Realising the severity of the injury, Adrian called out to his colleagues for help, and they immediately dialled 999. Following guidance from the call handler, his coworkers used towels as makeshift tourniquets, working to stem the bleeding until the emergency services arrived.
At YAA’s Nostell Air Base in Wakefield, Paramedic Stew Ashburner-McManus was monitoring incoming 999 calls on the charity’s Air Desk, ready to deploy the team at a moment’s notice. When the call came in, he immediately recognised the signs of catastrophic bleeding and dispatched YAA’s critical care team. With the factory just seven miles away, the helicopter’s speed of 140 mph meant they reached the scene in just three minutes.
Upon arrival, YAA’s medical team, consisting of Dr Paul Onion and specialist paramedic Sammy Wills, found Adrian conscious but in a critical condition. A local land ambulance crew, who were also tasked to the incident, had arrived just minutes earlier and had begun a primary assessment of his injuries.
Dr Paul Onion assessed Adrian’s nerve sensation and found he had no feeling in his fingers or lower arm. With heavy bleeding and clear signs of nerve damage, there was a serious risk that Adrian could lose the limb. To provide better care and privacy, the team decided to move him to the back of the land ambulance, where they could continue treatment in a safer environment. Before doing so, they applied a formal tourniquet to replace the makeshift one, allowing them greater control over the bleeding.
YAA’s paramedic Sammy Wills explained, “Industrial accidents are always serious, but Adrian’s level of bleeding was particularly concerning. As time passed, he became very clammy, which is often a sign that a patient’s heart is struggling to maintain blood supply to vital organs. To help, we laid Adrian flat, raised his legs, and held his arm elevated to encourage blood flow back to his heart”.
As the YAA team prepared Adrian for transport to hospital, Sammy packed the wound with a specialist Celox dressing designed to control bleeding and maintain stability during the journey. She explained, “This dressing is a fantastic bit of kit—it’s usually impregnated with ground seashells, which help the blood to clot and stop the bleeding more effectively”.
Adrian was transported to Leeds General Infirmary, where a specialist trauma team awaited his arrival. Upon reaching the hospital, Adrian underwent a four-hour surgery to repair the damage to his arm. Despite concerns about nerve damage to his blood vessels, the swift intervention of YAA’s critical care team gave Adrian the best chance to keep his arm.
Adrian’s recovery is expected to take 18-24 months, but he is already back at work and committed to regaining full use of his arm. Reflecting on the incident, Adrian said, “It was scary how quickly I was losing blood. My colleagues did an amazing job applying the tourniquets and stopping me from bleeding out before help arrived, I can’t thank them enough for what they did. And the YAA team arrived so quickly, and I’m convinced that if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here today”.
Adrian’s recovery is expected to take 18-24 months, but he is already back at work and committed to regaining full use of his arm. Reflecting on the incident, Adrian said, “It was scary how quickly I was losing blood. My colleagues did an amazing job applying the tourniquets and stopping me from bleeding out before help arrived, I can’t thank them enough for what they did. And the YAA team arrived so quickly, and I’m convinced that if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here today”.
Yorkshire Air 999 continues to offer a unique insight into the vital work of Yorkshire Air Ambulance, highlighting the critical role the service plays in saving lives across the region. The episode also follows the YAA team as they respond to other emergencies, including a woman who fell from her motorbike at 45mph in the rural dales; a man who fell 30 feet from a ladder while working on a house and 12-year-old boy who was involved in an off-road buggy accident.