>>> A PATIENT'S STORY

 

Trevor sure speed of rescue saved his leg

Trevor Power is a Hamilton vegetation contractor whose business is pruning roadside edges. He also imports safety equipment - and safety is something he knows a good deal about.

So when the 45-year-old came to grief on his cross-country motorbike 20km along a narrow, winding bush track between National Park and Owhango on May 29, Trevor and his friends were able to give very precise location information to rescuers.

And it was as well they were able to do so - Trevor is quite certain that the speed with which the Taupo-based Lion Foundation Rescue Helicopter reached him and then got him to Waikato Hospital saved his badly injured right leg.

"We were celebrating, a friend's 50th birthday, and 12 of us had gone for a ride along the 42nd Traverse - a little metal track through the bush between Owhango and National Park." Trevor said from his hospital bed.

"We were heading home, and were about 20km along the track when I rode into a wash-out that I didn't see on the track. It was only a metre deep, but I came off the bike and hit my right knee on a tree stump. It dislocated the knee badly."

The impact also burst an artery behind the injured knee, preventing the blood flowing back up the leg. The lower leg began to fill with blood.

The group had a global positioning system unit with them, and after mobile phone contact was made with the Lion Foundation rescue helicopter. Trevor's friends were able to give exact details as to where they were, and that there was a landing site within 50 metres along the track.

The helicopter arrived about 45 minutes after initial contact was made. It was piloted by Dan Harcourt, under the guidance of senior pilot Guy Beange, and two paramedics were also on board. Trevor, who by coincidence knew Guy Beange well, was flown direct to Waikato Hospital .

He says doctors later told him that when such injuries occur there is usually a maximum of six hours to operate on the leg to stop the inevitable swelling, or the leg is usually lost.

"After he had operated on me, the doctor told my wife there was a 90 per cent chance I would lose the leg." he says.

In fact, the leg is now healing after several operations, and it will be saved. But more surgery will be needed before it is completely healed.

"This was my first accident, although my brother runs motorcycle events and I've had something to do with emergency services and rescue helicopters before." says Trevor. "But until you're actually involved in an accident like this yourself, you can never emphasise just how important this rescue service is.

"It was just a simple fall off a motorbike, but I could have lost my leg if that helicopter hadn't been available. It's so very worthwhile in remote areas like that."

"And," he says, "the helicopters are no good without the skills of the pilot, and the medical people too. They were all very, very good."