Mid-Canterbury’s Rescue Warriors are pleased Hayden Whiting has recovered following a ski jump that went wrong. They need him to ensure their bikes are ship shape so they can raise money for the service that rescued him!
Hayden is the head bike mechanic at Stoked Cycles in Ashburton and a supporter of the Rescue Warriors, proudly displaying their posters and brochures.
“We get a lot of people knocking on the door for different causes but when I heard about the Rescue Warriors raising money for the rescue helicopter, well, it became personal,” Hayden says.
The Rescue Warriors is a group of 12 men who are riding the length of New Zealand to raise money for the Canterbury and West Coast rescue helicopters.
Hayden was picked up by Canterbury’s Westpac Rescue Helicopter in 2020 while with friends at Mt Hutt.
“I had scoped out this jump on some quite steep terrain. I watched a few people do it and thought ‘oh yeah, I’ll give it a go’. I landed off to one side where there was a powder stash, but it had been snowy and windy and it turned out under that powder stash was a rock.”
Hayden landed on the rock and then “tomahawked” down the mountain.
“My mates initially joked I just had a dead leg but I couldn’t move and the pain wouldn’t go away. That’s when I started freaking out a bit.”
When ski patrol arrived they felt his deformed leg and cut his pants open only to find his femur (thighbone) sticking out.
“I think they rang the helicopter right there and then!” Hayden says.
Others on the ski field came to help, with patrollers digging a ledge for the stretcher so they could get Hayden down the mountain.
“I saw the helicopter landing in the car park before they even got me into the medical room. The rescue helicopter crew spent a good 45 minutes stabilising me. When I heard the paramedics talking about how close the bone could be from the artery, that’s when I realised how serious it was.”
Hayden was helicoptered directly to Christchurch Hospital where he had a five-and-a-half-hour surgery with rods and screws used to put his leg back into place. He’s had follow-up surgery since then to relocate some of the screws holding his leg together.
Hayden says his leg strength is back to about 75% of what it was before the accident, and he thinks that’s as good as it’s going to get.
“It’s definitely slowed me down a bit. I bought an e-bike so I could start riding again, which felt great. I’ve also been back to Mt Hutt skiing again. I needed to get over the fear the accident gave me, but I’m definitely not doing jumps like I used to!”
Hayden says while he felt a little embarrassed having to use the rescue helicopter, thinking there would be other people more in need, he was “pretty thankful” they were there for him.
“The rescue helicopter crew were amazing; I definitely felt more relaxed when I knew they’d arrived. They made me feel so comfortable and relaxed and were super professional – it really reassured me that I was in good hands.”
Today, Hayden is happy to support the service that rescued him, along with Ashburton’s Rescue Warriors.
“The Rescue Warriors come into the shop a bit and I do what I can to sort their bikes out so they’re all set for their massive ride. The rescue helicopter is an amazing cause and I’m happy to do what I can to help the Rescue Warriors on their mission to raise funds for this life-saving service.”
The Rescue Warriors set off on their 3,000 km bike ride on 10 February.
