A wayward sheep that broke away from the flock started a chain of events leading to Jason Wing’s flight in the Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter.
“I had a thousand things on my mind at the time,” admitted Jason, “but, regardless, I obviously didn’t apply the brakes on the bike properly when I jumped off to chase the sheep. The bike followed me a good 30 metres, then hit and knocked me off the side of the hill, before careering over the top of me and slamming into a tree.”
With obviously broken limbs lying at an awkward 90-degree angle, Jason was lucky to be carrying a cell phone. He called 111, while trying to stop himself from slipping further down the bank.
When the ambulance arrived, Jason was given pain relief and stretchered up the hill to the waiting rescue helicopter.
Jason was transferred from the ambulance stretcher to a helicopter stretcher, a practise that is soon to be a thing of the past as Pilot Chris Moody explains. “One of the advantages of our newly acquired helicopter will be that the patient is placed straight in to the helicopter without stretcher to stretcher transfer.”
Jason was initially flown to Palmerston North Hospital and then transferred to Whanganui Hospital. Temporarily wheelchair bound, Jason had plates and a screw inserted in his broken limbs, and has taken eight months off work to recover. Marton Lions Club kindly gave him the use of a mobility scooter so he could travel to the local hydrotherapy pool.
“That sheep turned out to be an expensive little fella,” he laughed.
As an expression of gratitude, Jason is planning a fundraising event to support the Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter. Further details will be posted via our social media and on the website when more information is at hand.