LIVES CAN CHANGE IN A HEARTBEAT ……
But your support means that the Rescue Helicopter crews can be there when you, or your family and whānau, need them.
The crew here in this region deal with stressful, overwhelming and complex emergencies all the time, but as Crew Chief Rick Knight says,
“This is what we do. Thanks to the help of our supporters, every one of you, we are ready to respond when accidents and medical events occur.”
The highly experienced helicopter crews have advanced clinical skills and train year round, so they are equipped and ready to deal with all scenarios, but they are often challenged to the limit.
Aaron was enjoying a day out at Mt Manakau when he slipped, in an instant he hit scree and slid 20 metres.
Initially saved by a big rock which broke his fall, he found himself bluffed and couldn’t move up or down. On one side of him was a 200-metre sheer drop.
Aaron only purchased his Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) three days prior to his trip. Without it he is sure no one would have found him, and he would have eventually fallen to his death.
The Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopter was dispatched. Critical Care Paramedic Kath could see, as she came down the wire to winch Aaron off the mountain, that it’s not always an injury that can lead to a life-or-death situation.
Critical Care Paramedic Intern Steve talks of a family who used their PLB just recently after a day out. The waters rose on the Waimakariri and they couldn’t get back down the river in their boat.
The father had struggled with the decision but absolutely made the right choice.
The weather became worse and he and the two children were winched out. The consequences of them staying there could have been fatal. There have been other incidents on Canterbury and West Coast rivers where people haven’t been able to get help because they weren’t carrying a PLB.
Roz was crossing a river on the West Coast with her husband when he lost his footing, slipped, and accidentally pushed her under the water. Her foot became trapped. She grabbed onto a rock and pulled herself back up stream but, despite her best efforts and her husband’s help, they couldn’t free her foot.
The freezing water was up to her chest and rising, they made the very best decision and activated their PLB.
Roz did her best to stay calm, preserving her energy in a very precarious situation.
She describes hearing a kind, gentle voice behind her, Critical Care Paramedic Hernan assuring her he wouldn’t let her go. Now freezing, and with numb arms and legs, Roz hung on as the crew worked to free her while the water continued to rise.
They finally managed to dislodge her foot and fortunately only had to treat her for hypothermia. Through it all it was Hernan’s kindness and gentle nature that kept Roz going.
Intensive Care Paramedic Adrian’s first night winch was in dreadful conditions.
On a foul, wet and windy night he and Paramedic Nigel responded to an emergency mayday call – a fishing boat was listing significantly with rocks on either side. The four occupants had abandoned ship and were at the base of a very steep cliff.
The water was rising rapidly and the job was technically very difficult, involving an 80-foot winch in appalling conditions. Battling terrible weather, including huge gusts of wind, the winch retrieval against the backdrop of the menacing cliff was incredibly challenging.
As Adrian shared, it is really about the consequences, what if they couldn’t reach these people, someone’s brother, cousin, son, husband.
When they’re working in bad conditions like this, the crew are always checking for safety and ensuring that no extra lives are put at risk. But they dig deep into their training and know that this is exactly what they have prepared for, the worst-case scenario. They tap into the skills honed through many months of intense training so they are competent and confident when it really matters.
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