A father from Oakham in Rutland has thanked members of the emergency services who he says saved his life – including a volunteer doctor from the East Midland's Immediate Care Scheme.

Jonathan Spencer (28), known as Jonny, suffered life changing injuries when he suffered a seizure in the early hours of 23 September 2018.

Emergency services were called with Dr Guy Rutty, a volunteer with the East Midlands Immediate Care Scheme, arriving swiftly on the scene and working alongside paramedic colleagues from the East Midlands Ambulance Service to administer pre-hospital immediate care to Mr Spencer.

Following emergency admission to the Intensive Care Unit at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, Mr Spencer spent the next 23 days unconscious and a total of 59 days in hospital where medics battled to prevent his death from multiple organ failure.

"From the 23 September to 16 October I remember nothing at all but it has been made clear to me that I was very close indeed to losing my life and would have done so had it not been for Dr Rutty's intervention at the scene.

"I was given only the slimmest chance of survival. I want to pay tribute to all the volunteer doctors involved with EMICS who dedicate much of their spare time to attending emergency situations like mine," said Mr Spencer.

Mr Spencer also offered his sincere gratitude to the ICU and surgical teams at the Leicester Royal Infirmary - in particular Dr Matt Woods - who he says was pivotal to his recovery and who also volunteers for EMICS in his spare time.

He also thanks all the members of the Renal Unit team at Leicester General Hospital.

"During my time in hospital, eight lifesaving operations were performed on me including the removal of 50% of the muscle on my right arm due to compartment syndrome, unfortunately leaving me without the use of my right hand.

"I lost 25KG and am still undertaking weekly occupational therapy and physiotherapy. I have lost all the sight in my right eye and the majority in my left eye but am looking forward to white cane training and potentially a guide dog at a later stage to give me back some outdoor independence.

"I have also lost some of my hearing but my physical recovery continues week by week."

Despite his lasting physical disabilities Mr Spencer says he feels incredibly fortunate to have recovered sufficiently to go home to the house he shares with his partner Rebecca and their three children and he plans to continue to fundraise both for EMICS and for the ICU at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

"Eventually I would like to perform a charity parachute jump," he says. "I asked for donations in lieu of presents for my 28th birthday and hope to have raised over £1,000 for EMICS.

"I will be speaking to the Leicester Royal Infirmary Charity Trust too about what I can do to help the ICU. I plan eventually to go back to coaching football and also hope to return to work at some point too," he adds.

"My recovery goes on but I'm thankful every day that I'm still here to see my family grow up."

Dr Rutty said he was delighted to have been able to assist alongside the other emergency service personnel and was pleased to hear of Mr Spencer's continued recovery.

He said: "This kind of incident highlights the key role that the EMICS volunteer doctors play in ensuring better outcomes for people involved in accidents and emergency situations across the region. We are immensely grateful for all those who support our ongoing work with donations and fund raising."

Mr Spencer has organised a fundraising quiz at Bill's Bar in Oakham on Thursday 9 May at 8pm. Teams of up to six people are invited to join in with entry priced at £2 each with all proceeds donated to EMICS.