The 34 NHS staff who saved man whose body was held together with a BLANKET after he was hit by a 15 tonne lorry and declared dead TWICE

• Lewis Godfrey, 23, was attacked on a night out and pushed into the road, where he was dragged under the wheels of a lorry
• Suffered such horrendous injuries that doctors on the scene pronounced him dead TWICE
• So badly injured that his organs were strewn over the road
• Spent 16 days in a coma, was expected never to walk again and to have brain damage
• But five months on he has made a remarkable recovery

A man has miraculously cheated death after being hit by a 15 tonne lorry thanks to a dedicated team of 34 doctors and nurses.
Lewis Godfrey, 23, suffered such horrendous injuries that doctors pronounced him dead twice. The smash had left him so badly injured his insides were left strewn across the road and he was rushed to hospital with his body parts held together in a blanket.
Dr Nicholas Foster, who was working as a volunteer GP with paramedics was the first doctor to treat Mr Godfrey.
Dr Foster said: 'He had already died at the scene. When I got there, I saw the most horrific injuries - he had been ripped open.
'The level of trauma was so massive he shouldn’t have made it. I knew I had to stop the bleeding, so we put him back together and wrapped him up to keep him in one piece.'
Scroll down for dramatic 999 video

 

TOP ROW (left-right): Holly Stirland, staff nurse; Hannah Freeman, staff nurse; Dr Nicholas Foster, the first person on the scene of Lewis's accident; Lynn Brindley, healthcare assistant, major trauma ward;
Joanne Critchley, staff nurse; Bob Winter, consultant, intensive care; Lindsay Warhurst, staff nurse
BOTTOM ROW (left-right): Beth MacAlindin, staff nurse; Joanne Cooper, senior physiotherapist; Elaine Stevenson, auxiliary nurse; Shane MacSweeney, consultant vascular surgeon who operated on Lewis to repair his veins and arteries; June Pindard, scrub sister in operating theatres; Ian Nash, senior pain nurse specialist who advised and supervised pain relief for Lewis; Annalea Severn, staff nurse

 

TOP ROW (left-right): Annamma Giboy, staff nurse; Rebecca Thorpe, staff nurse in the emergency department; Hayley Queen, senior operating department practitioner in theatres; Miriam Duffy, clinical programme manager for the major trauma centre; Adam Brooks, consultant surgeon and head of the major trauma centre; Lucy Jennings, deputy sister on the major trauma ward; Katherine Knowle, staff nurse, intensive care
MIDDLE ROW (left-right): Ian Woodruff staff nurse, intensive care; Pamela Weaver, staff nurse; Sharon Sanderson, case manager, major trauma centre; Hayley Conroy, physiotherapist; Justy Baby, staff nurse, major trauma ward; Nuala Hughes, healthcare assistant, major trauma ward; Daren Forward, consultant surgeon in orthopaedics and major trauma who operated on Lewis when he first arrived at hospital
BOTTOM ROW (left-right): Rohan Revill, case manager in the major trauma centre; Sarah Tolman, staff nurse in the emergency department; Tina Talbot, auxiliary nurse; Sam Rossiter, senior occupational therapist; Claire Chapman, emergency department assistant; Tim Mitchell, senior occupational therapist who worked with Lewis on his return home, ensuring he had the right equipment such as splints and braces

Mr Godfrey had a substantial head injury and his skin had been ripped off his body in a band about a foot wide. His bowel had been damaged and his bladder ripped off.
The young man from Loughborough, Leicestershire, went on to spend 16 days in a coma. He was expected to have brain damage and never to walk again.
But five months after the horror smash he has made a remarkable recovery thanks to the team of medical staff at Nottingham Queens Medical Centre. This included six doctors, 18 nurses, three health care assistants, two physiotherapists, two occupational therapists and three healthcare managers.
 
Each member of staff played their part from Shane MacSweeney, the consultant vascular surgeon who repaired Lewis' veins and arteries, to Joanne Cooper, the senior physiotherapist who helped him walk again.

Mr Godfrey said: 'I’m lucky and my heart goes out to everyone single person that helped look after me. Without them I wouldn’t be here today.'

Lewis Godfrey has miraculously cheated death after being hit by a 15 tonne lorry - leaving him so badly injured his insides were left strewn across the road

Mr Godfrey points to where the skin was ripped from his body

Lewis reveals a foot-long scar after his life-saving operation

He added: 'It has taken a while for everything to sink in. Sometimes I can’t believe I’m here. I can’t remember anything from the fight or the accident, but I am really shocked when my dad tells me bits about what happened.
'I think it’s probably just as well I can’t remember anything. I was gutted when the doctors told me I would never walk again, but I was just glad to be here.
'I was determined to get my life back on track now, and with the help of a lot of people, I’m now able to walk around again.'
Mr Godfrey, a cable technician, was on a night out on June 2 when he was attacked by a group of men - who punched him in the head and pushed him into the road, where he was dragged under the wheels of a lorry.
He continued to be dragged along as the truck as the driver was unaware he had hit someone, 
A doctor pronounced Mr Godfrey dead at the scene after his heart had stopped beating - but incredibly, he came back to life.
In the ambulance - as his body was held together by a blanket - his heart stopped again, but paramedics battled to restart it.
He suffered from huge blood loss, severe head injuries, a broken pelvis and ripped all of the muscle off his upper right leg.
A titanium plate was inserted into his skull to keep the shape of the head relatively normal.

Mr Godfrey, a cable technician, also had his bladder ripped off and suffered bowel damage and a broken pelvis

He had skin removed from his leg for a graft (pictured) to cover a band about a foot wide where his skin had been ripped away

He has since taught himself to walk again

On the night he was admitted to the Queens Medical Centre he was operated on by surgeon, Mr Daren Forward.
Mr Forward said: 'When he came in it was clear he’d been crushed under a lorry. He had a bleed in his head, with a substantial head injury.

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

Five months after the horrific smash Mr Godfrey has made a full recovery, thanks to staff at the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham.

As well as undergoing emergency surgery, the 23-year-old has had a skin graft to repair his thigh.

He also had a titanium plate inserted into his skull to keep the shape of his head relatively normal.

Prior to going home, he also required extensive physiotherapy to walk again - and succeeded, despite initially being warned he may be paralysed.

'The skin had essentially been ripped off his body in a band about a foot wide. His bowel had been damaged and his bladder ripped off.'
Mr Godfrey said: 'When they told me I wouldn’t be able to walk again it was overwhelming. But with some help I managed to learn to walk again in six months.
'It was a strain at first - I couldn’t even feed myself but it’s a lot better now.'
Mr Godfrey's father Graham, 48, said: 'When we first arrived at the hospital, we were only allowed to see Lewis very briefly.
'They draped a sheet over him to cover his injuries, and I held his hand for a bit, and whispered in his ear to keep fighting.
'There were at least 12 tubes in him, and there was a huge bandage wrapped around his head.'
Five months on, Mr Godfrey is well on the road to recovery. Although he faces further surgery and physiotherapy he hopes to be back at work by January.