'It's a miracle I'm still here': Man reunited with ambulance crews who rescued him after he received horrific burns from electric shock
A man who suffered horrific burns to his body after touching live electricity cables in an abandoned building in Wolverhampton has been reunited with the ambulance staff who helped save his life.
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Darren Harris said it is "miraculous" that he is still alive today after he was injured by live electricity in Wolverhampton on November 24, 2020, and sustained significant burns to his face, arms, chest and abdomen.
Following the incident, he spent several months receiving specialist treatment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
Four years on, Darren visited the Stoke Ambulance Hub where he was reunited with the ambulance crew and Medical Emergency Response Incident Team (MERIT) trauma doctor who responded to the 999 call that day.
Darren, who is from Manchester, said the paramedics were "white as a ghost" when they saw his injuries.
Recounting what happened, he said: "During lockdown I was struggling for funds and I went to get illegal scrap metal from buildings that were getting demolished.
"Unfortunately, I put my left arm into an 11 kilovolt switchboard which completely melted my forearms down to the bone.
"I ran in front of the ambulance on its way to me to flag it down and both faces of the paramedics were as white as a ghost."
Among the ambulance staff who helped save Darren's life was paramedic Gary Williams and crewmate Matt Walker.
Gary added: "Matt and I both looked at each other and said where do we start. Darren’s arms had completely exploded."
The crew worked to administer pain relief whilst trying to stabilise Darren’s injuries which they said was a challenging situation because of the blood loss.
Dr Richard Fawcett was part of the MERIT team who, along with a critical care paramedic, responded to Darren that day.
He said: “Anything where you get this massive surge of electrical current going through the body, causing such extensive tissue injury, the likelihood is you’re probably not going to leave hospital.
"So to see Darren a few years later doing so fantastically well is unbelievable."
Darren now shares his story on social media in the hopes of inspiring others and has racked up almost 7,000 followers on Instagram.
He continued: "Miraculously somehow, I’m still here today, shining and trying to rebuild my life the best I can, all thanks to the two paramedics and the rest of the NHS team that saved me that night.
"It is a very special moment for me meeting them again and it means a hell of a lot. Without these guys I genuinely wouldn’t be here today. They will always have a special place in my heart."
