Northern Ireland

‘The force threw me up in the air’ - Farmer was minutes from death after bull attack

Thomas Bowen from Castlecaulfield praised Air Ambulance NI for saving his life after being suddenly rammed by animal last year

Paramedics had to place Thomas Bowen into a coma after the bull rammed into his stomach at a cattle mart last May. PICTURE: AIR AMBULANCE NI
Paramedics had to place Thomas Bowen into a coma after the bull rammed into his stomach at a cattle mart last May. PICTURE: AIR AMBULANCE NI

A Co Tyrone farmer says he came within “three minutes of being saved” after a sudden bull attack last year.

Thomas Bowen from Castlecaulfield had just started loading cattle at a mart in Clogher on May 17 when a bull in a loading bay suddenly struck him in his stomach with its head.

“There was no warning at all, one second it was standing quiet and the next second he was there,” he said.

“The force of the impact threw me up in the air and only for the quick actions of other farmers who saw what had happened, I’m certain that the bull would have went for me a second time.

“I can remember lying on the ground looking up… I kept hitting the back of my own head off the ground as the pain was so bad. Another farmer put the toe of his boot under my head to prevent me from doing more damage while others covered me in blankets.”

After nearly losing his life, Thomas Bowen is hosting a fundraiser for Air Ambulance NI on April 18.
After nearly losing his life, Thomas Bowen is hosting a fundraiser for Air Ambulance NI on April 18.

With ambulance and the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) quickly arriving, the severity of Mr Bowen’s injuries meant he was placed in an induced coma at the scene as well as receiving a 1.5 litre blood transfusion.

“I was told that from when the air ambulance was tasked in Lisburn, to landing and treated me in Clogher and then transporting me to Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast, it took 58 minutes in total. That’s what saved my life,” he said.

“My wife Jackie and family all arrived down to Belfast and at that stage I was already in theatre as my kidneys, bowel, liver, everything was just burst.”

Spending five days in a coma after the surgery, he awoke to be told by a doctor that he was only three minutes from being saved when he arrived.

Losing three stone after having to be fed through a drip in hospital, he has since made steady progress and received his final surgery before Christmas.

The family are now hosting a ‘Night of Celebration’ to raise funds for Air Ambulance NI on April 18 at Quinn’s Corner, Dungannon.

Urging the whole community to attend, Mr Bowen said: “Before my accident, I knew very little about the air ambulance and I never thought that morning driving to Clogher that I would ever need them.”

Mr McParland is sharing his story of recovery in a bid to raise awareness of the NI Air Ambulance, which came to his aid after the fall
The Air Ambulance was able to get Mr Bowen from the scene of his accident in Co Tyrone to hospital in Belfast within 58 minutes of being tasked from Lisburn.