Elliot's Story - Awhitu

Just five days after having a medical procedure, Elliot was at home recovering well. His mum says everything had been going perfectly: “He was healing really well, doing all the right things. We thought we were in the clear.”

But late on a Friday night, Elliot suddenly woke up and began bleeding heavily.

“It just started hosing,” his mum recalls. “It wasn’t common, but we’d been told bleeding was one of the risks. And this was definitely major blood loss.”

Living rurally, she rang emergency services straight away. While the dispatcher monitored the situation, an ambulance was sent, but it quickly became clear that help wouldn’t arrive fast enough.

“I think the ambulance had to come from Pukekohe, which is about 50 minutes to an hour away. After about fifteen minutes on the phone, it was evident he needed to get to hospital very fast. That’s when they dispatched the helicopter.”

Amazing community first responders who were first on scene took care of him until the helicopter arrived. Because the helicopter couldn’t land on their property, it set down in a nearby paddock. The critical care paramedics were brought to the house, assessed Elliot, and transported him back to the waiting aircraft.

“He was flown straight to the resus room at Starship,” she says. “They gave him a blood transfusion and extra fluids. It was full-on. His blood pressure wasn’t looking very good by the time we arrived.”

Throughout the ordeal, Elliot remained surprisingly calm. “He’s a pretty calm kid anyway. He knew the situation was serious, but he handled it so well.”

After the bleeding was stopped, Elliot recovered quickly. He stayed in hospital a little longer than usual, not because of complications, but because the family lives so remotely and doctors wanted to avoid another emergency flight. “A couple of months down the track, you’d never know anything had happened,” his mum says. “He’s doing brilliantly.”

Reflecting on the helicopter service, she doesn’t mince words: “I’m no medical professional, but I suspect he wouldn’t be here if the helicopter hadn’t come. Getting him to hospital by road would have taken at least an hour. Things were pretty touch-and-go.”

She says the moment she knew the helicopter was close was the moment she felt hope. “Once they were nearby, I knew he’d be okay.”

Although the family prefers to keep photos of Elliot private, his mum says she shared their story because she knows it could help others understand how vital the rescue helicopter is.

“All the stars lined up for us. We were very, very lucky.”