“Horrendously windy” is how Bryan McNab describes the day he needed the Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
It was that wind, whipping its way around the MacKenzie Basin, that did the damage.
In September 2024 Bryan was delivering baleage to Mt Gerald Station at the top of Lake Tekapo. As he brought his truck to a stop, the wind was so strong he could barely open the door.
“I got out of the truck and walked a few steps away and that’s when the accident happened,” Bryan says.
The wind dislodged a bale and it fell off the truck.
“It thumped onto the ground and then rolled towards me, pinning me to the ground. I was stuck,” Bryan says.
Just as the accident happened, a farm worker arrived to help unload the baleage.
“He took one look at me and said, ‘what do you want me to do?’ I said, ‘get this bloody thing off me!’”
Bryan says it took a couple of goes, but eventually the farm worker pulled the bale off him using his tractor.
“I was pretty sure I’d done some bad damage. I was struggling to move and could only drag myself with my elbows.”
When they called emergency services, Bryan thought the weather could make it challenging to get to him.
“It would have been blowing 110 to 120 kilometres up there in the MacKenzie Basin.”
Bryan was transported by ambulance to Fairlie, where the rescue helicopter picked him up and transported him to Christchurch Hospital.
“By that stage I was very pleased to see the rescue helicopter. The pilot did a great job flying that day; it was pretty bumpy.”
Once at Christchurch Hospital doctors were most worried about Bryan’s back. A metal rod that had been inserted into his back after an accident 40 years ago had bent and he had broken a number of vertebrae. Bryan had also injured his ribs, knee and ankle.
Bryan McNabb today with his loyal companion Tyke the Blue Heeler
After surgery and ten days in Christchurch Hospital Bryan was transferred to Timaru Hospital, close to his hometown of Fairlie.
While today his back has largely healed, he’s still having trouble with his knee and another surgery is looming. When it comes to getting back to work, Bryan says that’s a work in progress.
Meanwhile, he’s thankful for the great support of his community.
“There are a lot of good people in this community, including a growing group of us who have been picked up by the rescue helicopter.”
Bryan believes if he’d been closer to the truck when the bale fell, he wouldn’t be here today.
“What was so important was getting to Christchurch Hospital as soon as I could – that’s the best thing that happened and that was thanks to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.”
