Partially electrocuted, suffering from a broken leg, smashed pelvis, serious head trauma and other injuries, Chatham native Andrew Crawford needed 86 units of blood to survive a terrible car crash in Chatham five years ago.
He was at the Aug. 8 blood donor clinic at the Spirit & Life Centre in Chatham to say thank you to donors.
“I was ejected from the vehicle and was destined for death,” Crawford recalled of the late-night crash, in which he was ejected, on Aug. 11, 2013.
The car left the road, hopped a sidewalk, took out a hydro pole, plowed through a green hydro box, flipped over and came to rest on its side facing the opposite direction it was travelling.
Crawford, a passenger, nearly died after the crash. In fact, he said he flat-lined in the ambulance, at the hospital and in the Ornge air ambulance that took him to a London hospital for emergency surgery.
In a three-day span, he needed 86 units of blood to survive.
It took him a year to recover. He said he’s still recovering today.
“The recovery is something I am always going to go through. I have one leg shorter than the other and back issues,” he said. “That first year, I had to learn how to walk again.”
Crawford said he quickly developed a deep respect for people who donate their blood.
“I love to meet donors. I honestly thank them. They can help save up to three lives in one 15-minute donation,” he said. “Before being involved with an organization like this (Canadian Blood Services), I never understood how much demand there is. My eyes have been opened.”
Crawford is an advocate for Canadian Blood Services, and has been since 2014. The post-graduate student at Fanshawe College, now 24, is spending the summer working with the service to help promote its programs in Chatham and London. But he said his efforts won’t stop when the job ends.
“I owe it for the rest of my life to help out. Without them (Canadian Blood Services), I wouldn’t be here.”
Stephanie Wilkinson, territory manager for Canadian Blood Services, said Crawford is an inspiration.
“He’s so phenomenal,” she said of his contributions. “He can help tell people of the impact a donor can make.”
While one donor can save up to three lives in just a single donation, Wilkinson said it often takes more than one donor to support a patient.
For example, it can take up to eight different donors to support a cancer patient through a week’s worth of treatments. One car accident victim can need up to 50 units of blood. Or 86 in Crawford’s case.
Wilkinson said Canadian Blood Services holds two clinics a month in Chatham, one at the Spirit & Life Centre on Wellington and one at the Healthplex at the Thames Campus of St. Clair College.
