A builder who suffered catastrophic injuries after falling 20ft from a roof has inspired his local village to raise £9,000 for Day One.
Gary Osborne, of Scholes, near Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, says he is lucky to be alive after losing his footing and falling onto a hard driveway below while working on a property in Huddersfield, on 11 April 2024.
He was rushed to Leeds Major Trauma Centre with a shattered hip, broken pelvis and ribs, damaged internal organs and severe internal bleeding, resulting in a nine-hour operation.
As Gary, 56, came to terms with surviving, his wife Carol was left at his bedside worrying about what the future may hold.
That’s when the family received help from Day One. Our hospital-based caseworker Marianne gave them vital emotional support and help with practical advice around finances. Gary was self-employed and working on his own property so didn’t have insurance in place. Day One provided a small grant of £250 to help Carol with travel and parking costs so she could remain by her husband’s side every day. Marianne also supported them with benefits advice and what they would be entitled to once they left hospital.
After 20 days, Gary was transferred to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary to continue his recovery so he was closer to their home.
But Day One’s support didn’t stop.
Our outreach worker Amanda Booth, pictured, visited them regularly and continued to be there for them. She arranged specialised counselling sessions for Gary, helped them navigate the daunting process of claiming benefits and provided a further grant towards a single bed for Gary to recover downstairs as he couldn’t walk up stairs.
"I don’t know what we would have done without Day One by our side. At one stage I thought I was going to die. The impact on my family was massive, so to have that emotional support for them was vital. The counselling helped me massively as I felt like I’d fallen off a cliff emotionally after being positive for so long."
Gary and Carol were so grateful for the support they received from Day One, that in October 2024 their village pub – the Boot & Shoe Inn - held a harvest fundraiser for the charity – raising an amazing £9,000. The landlady Debbie Whiteley was inspired by Gary’s story and the importance of Day One after her husband Dave had been injured in a motorbike crash 20 years previous and hadn’t received any support beyond the clinical care.
In December, Gary, Carol and Debbie presented the charity with the money so it can help even more people in West Yorkshire who have suffered catastrophic injuries. As well regional support, Day One has a national offer to help patients and family members wherever they are in the UK with emotional support, emergency funding, legal, welfare and benefits advice and peer support from volunteers who have had similar injuries.
