For Ivan Lintin, living life at 100mph (or often much faster) was the norm for several years, as he juggled his work as an on-call firefighter with motorbike racing – often in the Isle of Man TT.
So when he was involved in a devastating crash in July 2018, which tragically claimed the life of his friend James, Ivan struggled to come to terms with not being able to walk – let alone work – for months on end.
Luckily, he knew about the support we offer, having fundraised and donated to us throughout his career, and reached out for our help during his recovery.
Now he wants to encourage others in the fire community to donate when they can – as they never know when they may need our support.
We spoke to Ivan, 37, who works for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service, when he visited Jubilee House, our residential centre in Cumbria, in 2018.
Support more people like Ivan by donating now
He said at the time: “I was involved in a crash at the Southern 100 in the Isle of Man. Unfortunately it cost the life of my friend James and I was in quite a serious way from it. I had nine weeks in hospital, two weeks in a coma and now I’m here for a bit of rehabilitation.”
Ivan suffered a serious head injury in the crash, as well as a broken leg and broken pelvis.
“I’m hobbling about, but less hobbling now being here and doing a bit of rehabilitation with them,” Ivan added. “Being on the programme, obviously you work very tightly with the physios, which is phenomenal really, because in the NHS I’m with physios as well but they have a time constraint to deal with me.”
During his time at the centre, Ivan was offered the chance to walk on our Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill, which essentially lifts an individual’s weight up with an air bag around the waist, to enable walking without bearing full weight.
“It’s the first ever time I’ve walked confidently, like I used to, since the crash,” Ivan said at the time. “It’s absolutely brilliant really. Just the success, I’ve come here obviously as a firefighter and I really want to get back on the run and stuff, get back to normal work, do the normal bits in life. Just coming here seems to have made all that a step nearer, it’s fantastic really.
“The food, how you’re treated, where you stay, what you do while you’re here. It’s phenomenal. They obviously deal with lots of people with different scenarios, different injuries, they can tick every box.”
Two and a half years after visiting us, Ivan was able to return to work as a firefighter and says that’s all thanks to kind-hearted donations from our supporters.
We spoke to him again three years after his accident and he said: “I finally got back into the service after a lot of work. It was two and a half years after visiting Jubilee House – I had to do loads of training and get back up to speed again. I really enjoy being back in the retained world now, I missed it.
“I would encourage anyone joining the fire service, or in the early stages of the fire service, to consider doing little bits for the Charity here and there.
“I’ve been in the service 16 years now and I’ve had the two weeks at Jubilee House and the benefits of the Charity and the success of what them guys do.
“So the little contributions, the Car Washes we do, the other things to raise funds for The Fire Fighters Charity are phenomenal things to do. It’s a good place to be part of.”
If you’re struggling with your health and wellbeing, we may be able to help you. Call our Support Line on 0800 389 8820, make an enquiry online or register for MyFFC now and visit the ‘Access Support’ tab at the top of the MyFFC homepage.
You can also join our ‘Share Your Story’ Group in MyFFC, by clicking on the ‘Groups’ tab, to chat to others who have received our support or enquire about sharing your own story.