Man scalped by helicopter blade recovering slowly

Johnny Lowe, the man struck in the head by a helicopter rotor blade, is making a miraculous recovery, despite losing much of his skull.

His last words after being hit were, "I'm not gonna make it". But Mr Lowe proved himself wrong, as well as doctors who told his family he would not survive.

On Boxing Day last year, Mr Lowe, a 36-year-old excavator, gave his friends the thumbs-up as they were about to take off on a scenic helicopter flight from Puriri Hotel, near Thames, where he lives.

As he walked away, the rotor blade hit him. Few people survive such accidents.

Not only is he alive - he has no brain damage. He speaks clearly and remembers everything about the accident. And, if you look at his face, he looks completely normal.

But see him from the back and you realise a third of his skull is missing - doctors had to remove it to relieve the swelling.

He can push the side of his head in with his finger - it's like putty.

Mr Lowe doesn't know how the accident happened but clearly recalls the rotor blade cracking his head.

"I thought it was just a tap. I thought, 'sheesh, that was close'."

He soon realised it was much worse. As the blood came pouring out of the hole in his head, he stumbled inside the hotel and tried to call an ambulance.

"I tried to dial 111 but I couldn't - there was too much blood."

Hotel cleaner Bernadette Murray took over and called the emergency services. Although in shock and losing blood, Mr Lowe went back outside to remove his boots.

He thought his life was over.

"I told Bernadette I didn't think I was going to make it," he recalls.

Two months on, he is progressing well. His treatment is on track and a month ago his right eye opened properly. That was his best day so far.

He doesn't take any medication other than blackout pills and Panadol for the occasional headache.

But his life has changed.

With the open head wound, he has to protect his brain. He can't do anything active and has to wear rugby head gear to prevent any bumps. He needs afternoon naps but can only sleep in one position. Sometimes he doesn't understand television shows. The temperature affects him - if he spends time in the sun he becomes exhausted. But he also feels the cold.

Mr Lowe was an independent and active man. Now he can't drive anywhere and struggles with the confinement. He is president of the local motorcycle club and hopes he will one day get back on his bike.

He also wants to get back to work on the digger for his old employers, but the job might be too much for him.

"The thing I notice the most is the vibrations. When you go along the road in a car and hit a bump, that hurts."

But he's used the accident as a turning point. He's given up smoking and doesn't drink, and he's never read so much in his life. His boss jokes he's never looked better.

But right now he's waiting for the day that dented piece of skull, now up in Auckland, is back where it belongs - in his head.

"It's certainly altered my life. The day I wake up and this is back in," he says, pointing to his head, "that's when I'll feel better."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY