Survivor: Northlanders must support Rescue Helicopter Appeal

22 November, 2011

Survivor encourages Northlanders to support Rescue Helicopter Appeal

A Mangawhai woman is paying tribute to Northland’s Electricity Rescue Helicopter service after suffering potentially fatal head injuries while cycling in Mangawhai Forest near Te Arai.

And she is encouraging others who have benefited from the service to donate to the 2011 Appeal which is on now.

61-year-old Ruth Porter was cycling with her husband Bryan when she was thrown over her handle bars late last month.

She was unconscious for 15 minutes and suffered a broken cheek bone, three brain bleeds, heavy bruising to her hip and left arm, plus a broken bone in her right thumb.

After Bryan phoned emergency services, he tried to rouse her back to consciousness.

The Mangawhai First Response Unit and Maungaturoto Ambulance Service attended to Ruth in the forest and transported her to the local domain from where she was airlifted to Whangarei Hospital.

She wore a neck brace for two weeks and is still battling nerve damage around her left eye.

However, Ruth is thankful for her rescue.

“I sincerely want to say thank you to all of the emergency services, but particularly to the Rescue Helicopter Service,” says Ruth.

“There are ten and a half hours of my life I have no memory of from the time of the accident but I’m told they were just wonderful to my husband and made my trip far more comfortable than it would have been going by road. I had a lot of injuries which could have been a lot worse – but hey I’m lucky.

“It is great to be with my children and grandchildren again so I can only encourage people to support a great service.”

Donations can be made using the official donation form and freepost envelope delivered to household letterboxes throughout the Far North, Kaipara and Whangarei regions. Locals can also donate by visiting any Northland ASB Bank or a one-off online payment to ERH Appeal - ASB Bank Account No: 12 3106 0046000 00.

Those who donate $5 or more can be in to win one of 30 rides in the Electricity Rescue Helicopter.

Northpower and Top Energy will match donations dollar for dollar to a maximum of $150,000.

About Northpower
Northpower is a Northland owned electricity distribution company with over 52,000 electricity customers connected to its network over an area of some 5,700 square kilometres covering the Whangarei and Kaipara districts in Northland. Northpower Contracting, a division of Northpower, is a leading supplier of electricity distribution network design, maintenance and construction services with branches across New Zealand’s North Island and in Perth, Western Australia. More about Northpower is available at www.northpower.com.

About Top Energy
Top Energy Limited is the local electricity generation and lines network company which supplies 30,000 electricity consumers in the Mid and Far North of New Zealand's North Island. First established in 1935, the Company is owned by its power consumers. Top Energy’s shares are held by the Top Energy Consumer Trust (formerly the Bay of Islands Electric Power Trust) on behalf of electricity consumers in the region.

About NEST
Northland Emergency Services Trust (NEST) is a charitable trust established to provide a dedicated rescue and air ambulance service for the people of, and visitors to, Northland and beyond. Its rescue helicopters are in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The Electricity Rescue Helicopter is owned and operated by the Northland Emergency Services Trust (NEST) which based in Whangarei. Since its launch in November 1988, Northland’s only independent rescue helicopter service has transported well over 12,000 locals and saved over 1700 lives.

ENDS

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