Brendan had a break from the usual family routine that Saturday, usually he’d be at his children’s sport, cheering them on from the sidelines, something many of us are familiar with as parents. With it being the King’s Birthday weekend, he had some time on his hands and, having finally just bought his dream bike he went for a ride on a familiar route on the Banks Peninsula along with his brother-in-law.
Descending a hill, Brendan’s bike unexpectedly skidded on gravel and collided with another vehicle, leaving him critically injured.
At the base, the call came through that there had been a motor vehicle accident, and the crew of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter were airborne in less than 10 minutes.
Critical Care Paramedic Steve, with over 15 years of ambulance experience, was on his first call out on the Rescue Helicopter.
When they arrived at the scene, they knew that it was serious. The head injury was making Brendan combative even though he wasn’t really conscious.
“That’s just the way that the brain works,” Steve tells me, “It’s responding to the injury it’s suffered”.
Along with paramedic Rob, Steve administered sedation to calm Brendan so they were able to work more easily. Because his condition was deteriorating, the team also intubated Brendan to assist his breathing, a procedure that can only be undertaken by Critical Care Paramedics.
Having this level of training on every Rescue Helicopter is vital for saving lives in your community.
Back at home, Liz told Luke and Zoey that dad had been in a crash. Trying to play it down for the children while terrified herself, Liz organised the children and went into the hospital. With no idea what injuries Brendan had suffered, the wait was excruciating.
What was taking so long?
Once Brendan was intubated, Critical Care Paramedic Steve and Paramedic Rob began to move him into the helicopter but just at that moment, he crashed. A tension pneumothorax (collapsed lung) meant that air was leaking into his chest cavity and putting pressure on Brendan’s lungs and on the blood supply to his heart making it difficult for it to keep beating.
“We needed to open Brendan’s chest to relieve the pressure and ensure we could keep him alive for the trip to hospital.” Steve explained.
Talking to Brendan and his family 8 months after the accident, it’s heartbreaking seeing the tears welling up in young Luke’s eyes and hearing the emotion in his voice as he remembers the 4 weeks that his dad was in Christchurch Hospital. Luke is thinking back to when it was possible that his dad wouldn’t be on the sideline ever again to watch his rugby and Zoey’s hockey.
Brendan suffered a massive head injury with four brain bleeds, damage to his subclavian artery, several broken ribs, and a gash to his leg. His helmet was cracked from the impact of the crash. The nearly four weeks that Brendan spent at Christchurch hospital is all but lost to him.
His first real memories are being flown by the New Zealand Flying Doctor, sister service to the Rescue Helicopters, up to Wellington to attend the Brain Injury Rehabilitation service. During his time in the hospital, Brendan was always aware of his family, he knew Liz, Luke, and Zoey, and he remembered to ask about their sport.
“Through it all, it was the little things that kept me going,” Brendan tells me, “I just wanted to be back with the kids and my wife. Watching their sport, being a family, it was all I could think about.”
Losing a parent is one of the most distressing things a child can imagine, and not having dad on the sideline at rugby and hockey would have been devastating for young Luke and Zoey.
With close to 1000 missions in 2023, we need your help to save patients like Brendan.
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