AN Egremont woman is set to take on her first marathon in Manchester in support of the charity who saved the lives of her loved ones

On October 29 2018, Lisa McCrickard received a terrifying phone call, the 42-year-old kitchen assistant was informed that her husband Ian, and her two sons, Jack,14 and Harry, 11, had been involved in a road traffic collision and were being prepared to be airlifted to The Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle.

Lisa was driven to the scene where she learned that another car had come around the corner, speeding on the wrong side of the road and hit Ian and the boys head on and pushed them right off the road. Lisa said: “I think the hardest part for me was on the way to the accident. They wouldn't tell me whether they were alive or not.

"It was only until I got to the scene, that’s when I saw Harry going up in the helicopter. Jack had just been cut out of the car, and my husband was still trapped in the wreckage.”

Ian and Jack were also airlifted to hospital by the Great North Air Ambulance where they were all admitted into critical care and faced a long journey to recovery. The brothers were in hospital for three weeks and Ian, for four weeks.

The three sustained a number of physical and mental injuries; Ian broke both of his legs and had significant facial damage. In addition, he broke his left knee, a big toe, a finger on his left hand, and suffered lacerations to his hand and arm. Some of Ian's surgeries to rebuild his legs lasted up to 12 hours.

Furthermore, Jack shattered both of his wrists, damaged his lung, and snapped his femur, while Harry broke his shoulder, fractured his pelvis, and had a bleed to his spleen. Lisa said: “RVI looked after them amazingly and I can’t thank them enough. When we got home it was a difficult experience because you have them all to look after, wounds to dress, as well as washed and fed.

“Within the last six to nine months, they've started doing really well. It took us a long time to be able to get my youngest son Harry mental help because living in Cumbria there's nothing available.

“Jack needs another operation, because at the minute he's got one leg slightly longer than the other from one of the legs he broke.

“Ian's progression has been going really well and he’s back cycling again. They told him that he'd never be able to get on a bike again, but he’s been out cycling 100 miles.”

Lisa has decided to run the adidas Manchester Marathon in aid Great North Air Ambulance, and the support they gave her family. Lisa said: "The GNAAS are running in deficit this time of year, and we know these charities are needed as and when. If people don’t keep raising money for them, we might not have them.”

As the marathon on April 14 closes in, Lisa said: “I feel really tearful and really nervous but it is not about me, it is for a much bigger cause.

"Seeing them go through what they went through, they are my inspiration."