A MAN from Hartley Wintney who attempted to take his own life following a change to his work circumstances and the struggles of Covid has thanked the county's air ambulance for helping to save his life. 

Thomas Brooks, 37, attempted to commit suicide in February last year while he was at home.

Thomas, who was 35 at the time, was found by his wife 37-year-old Sophie after she woke up from an afternoon nap to find Thomas unconscious and struggling to breathe in their lounge.

Thomas and Sophie’s life had been on track with “everything going right", but when Covid struck and a change in his work circumstances hit, Thomas’ mental health broke down.  

Thomas said: "I decided I'd had enough."

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Paramedics initially responded to the emergency call, but due to the severity of his injuries, it was decided that Thomas desperately needed the intervention of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance who then attended.

They carried out an emergency anaesthetic procedure called a rapid sequence induction on Thomas – a procedure that allows the team to take control of his breathing and protect his brain.     

Sophie said her living room suddenly felt “like an operating theatre” when the air ambulance crew arrived to desperately save her husband's life.

She said: "If the air ambulance hadn’t come that day, my husband would have died.

“I had to run upstairs to the bathroom to be sick because I was so terrified of what was happening. I really did think Thomas was going to die or at the very least have brain damage.” 

Once they had control of his airway, Thomas was put into an ambulance and taken to Basingstoke hospital where he remained in an induced coma for two days. 

Thomas said: "It's been a long, slow journey to recovery but I'm making great progress. I couldn't see any other way of dealing with the anxiety. I was determined to die. But with help and support, I've found a way to live."  

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Following the terrifying ordeal the pair are now urging others to follow in their footsteps and support this life-saving charity, and say “you never know when you or your loved ones will need them".

Both Sophie and Thomas are in no doubt of the vital role the air ambulance team played that day.