“I am so grateful to the team on the rescue helicopter that came to my aid. The crew were so skilled and professional, I felt so relieved to see them and I knew I was in safe hands”.

Christine and her husband Alan, an active Christchurch couple, had planned an adventure-filled holiday for their Easter weekend this year. They drove up to the central North Island, planning to hike the Tongariro Crossing and then cycle the Pureora Timber Trail. However, snow from the south forced them to shorten their hike on the Tongariro Crossing.

After the weather had cleared up, they set out on their Timber Trail adventure, riding the challenging bike trail with friends. On their second day on the trail, Christine's adventure took an unexpected turn.

Just beyond the magnificent Maramataha suspension bridge, the trail takes a sharp and tricky uphill bend, then it is a steady 2.5km uphill climb to reach the ridge.

“During the second day of our Timber Trail ride, I unfortunately failed to navigate a sharp corner just after the swing bridge. I fell off my bike, rolled a couple of times, and dropped a short distance off the track painfully onto my shoulder” says Christine.

Thankfully one of the members of their group had a personal locator beacon (PLB) and other riders who stumbled across Christine injured sent a couple of their group members ahead to ask him to come back. Fortunately, they were able to call for help in the remote area of the forest, which had no cellphone coverage.

Your rescue helicopter crew were tasked to the mission, and with the GPS coordinates of where Christine lay injured, were soon flying over the forest.

Your rescue helicopter pilot says... “It was a beautiful autumn morning as we descended the western slopes of the Pureora Range where we began to pick up the signal from a personal locator beacon.

“I had ridden the Timber Trail myself just two weeks prior, so as we located Christine and her party near the Maramataha Bridge, I could recall the location where Christine had fallen as the trail veers sharply and begins to climb up the hill immediately after the bridge.”

Your rescue helicopter slowed to a hover near a large Rimu tree, and the crewman expertly lowered the Critical Care Flight Paramedic (CCFP) down to the clearest area in the vicinity at the end of the bridge, where he swiftly attended to Christine's injuries.

The CCFP was “expertly lowered down he was very calm, kind and confident; giving me pain relief and putting my arm in a temporary splint to take pressure off my shoulder joint.”

Christine sustained three fractures in her humerus, through the neck and head of the bone.

“I’m not great with heights, but the CCFP made me feel secure during the winch up to the rescue helicopter and the subsequent ride to a clearing where they could land safely to transfer me into the aircraft for the flight to Rotorua Hospital” said Christine of her ordeal.

“The team that day enabled me to get prompt medical attention and saved me from a very long, difficult and very painful walk and ride out of the area, and from further injury to the joint. A huge thank you to the crew. I really appreciate your kind help. You do such an amazing and important job” says a very grateful Christine.

Missions like Christine’s happen every day and it’s what happens next that makes the difference… YOU make that difference. Donate to Chopper Appeal today https://give.rescue.org.nz/event/waikato-westpac-rescue-helicopter/donate/

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