A PLUCKY teenager who had 45 minutes to live after a nightmare accident is encouraging people to join her in a Virtual Santa Fun Run in aid of the charity which saved her life.
This month, Rosie Jeffs, 14, from Ryton-on-Dunsmore will take part in the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance’s (WNAA) virtual fund-raiser.
Rosie, a pupil at Bablake Senior School in Coventry, has defied doctors since April 2017 when she was thrown off the back of her dad’s motorcycle after he had to brake suddenly.
Despite wearing all the protective gear, Rosie suffered 10 breaks and fractures to her right femur, tibia, fibula, her left shoulder, her pelvis and jaw.
With her life expectancy at only 45 minutes, the WNAA came to Rosie’s rescue, sedated her and flew her to hospital in just seven minutes for the specialist care she urgently needed.
Since then, Rosie has been supporting WNAA in various ways, from climbing Mount Snowdon and being the face of last year’s charity Christmas Campaign, to now taking part in the Virtual Santa Fun Run.
She said: “I’m really looking forward to getting involved with the Virtual Santa Fun Run and spreading some seasonal cheer – which we all currently need – to help raise crucial funds for the charity which flew to my rescue.
“Every mission flown by the air ambulance costs £1,700. The charity receives no government funding and relies totally on donations to keep flying.
“As it’s the season of goodwill to all, I am hoping others will be encouraged to get involved in the event too, as I am living proof of the amazing work they do every day of the year – including over the Christmas period.”
The charity will be holding runs on December 12 and 13.
People can take part in their location of choice – conforming to government Coronavirus guidelines – and can walk, jog, or run either 1.5k or 5k.
WNAA fundraising executive Lee Bunting said: “This year has been very difficult and challenging for us all. As a charity – with the closure of all our shops and our fund-raising activities cancelled – we have faced income losses of over £2million.
“However, we’ve seen first-hand how we can all pull together during difficult times, and because of the generosity of the public, WNAA has been able to continue providing a 24/7 lifesaving service to the people of Warwickshire and beyond.
“We want to end 2020 with a smile on all our faces, so we would love as many of the public to join us for our very first Virtual Santa Fun Run – we’ll even send them a Santa hat and beard by post when they sign up.”
Visit www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk/santa-fun-run or call 0300 3045 999 to sign up to the WNAA Santa Fun Run.
