Brook Slingsby receives treatment for his injuries in ICU at Waikato Hospital immediately after his accident. Photo / Supplied
Brook Slingsby receives treatment for his injuries in ICU at Waikato Hospital immediately after his accident. Photo / Supplied
It was “quite the scene” when the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter arrived to pick up a critically injured engineer from his Taupō workshop.
Armoured Engineering owner Brook Slingsby was assessing a hydraulic leak on a container truck in October last year at his Rotokawa workshop, when the hydraulics and the safety valve failed completely, sending a 1000kg mechanical arm down on top of him.
Staff were the first on the scene and found Slingsby unconscious, with multiple injuries.
St John Ambulance medics were on the scene in minutes but it soon became clear Brook was in urgent need of a rescue helicopter.
The most serious injuries included several broken and shattered vertebrae in his back and neck, a badly fractured scapular, punctured lungs, broken ribs, and a dislocated sternum.
Brook doesn’t remember anything of the accident, he was unconscious for 22 days, but said he was “really, really grateful” for the helicopter rescue service. A journey to Waikato Hospital in Hamilton, by road, would have taken over two hours but the flight took just 20 minutes.
“I know my wife and family were very relieved to hear I was being flown to Waikato Hospital by the rescue helicopter.”
Brook Slingsby enjoys some family time with Mckenzie 5, wife Vanessa and Rocco 3. Photo / Supplied
A spokesperson for Greenlea Rescue Helicopter, which is part of the Philips Search & Rescue trust, said time was certainly a factor, as was the treatment while in-flight.
“Having a highly skilled crew onboard to provide injury response care to Brook during the transit may have been the defining factor of Brook being here today.”
A restructure of the national air ambulance service in 2018 almost saw the rescue helicopter service moved out of Taupō, prompting a widespread public campaign, including protest marches and petitions to Government. Then Health Minister David Clark listened to feedback from the wider Taupō and Ruapehu communities and decided to keep a Taupō-based service.
Brook suffered a serious brain injury from a depressed skull fracture in the accident but says he is well on the road to a full recovery, he’s back at work and says he is “about 75 per cent”. He still has a bit of a dent in the head and full recovery will take as much as five years from the time of the accident.
He said even though he still faces daily challenges as a result of his injuries, his therapists and doctors are pleased with the progress he has made while undergoing therapy and a return-to-work programme.
He and wife Vanessa Slingsby have two children, 3-year-old Rocco and Mckenzie who is soon to celebrate her sixth birthday.
“The Greenlea Rescue Helicopter was a huge factor resulting in my survival of the accident which I am forever grateful for. I guess you don’t realise actually how incredible your services are until yourself or a family member is in need of a rescue helicopter.”
This year has been one of the busiest on record for Greenlea Rescue Helicopter and it is now running a Christmas appeal to help fund the cost of missions in the Central North Island.
People can donate by visiting give.rescue.org.nz/event/greenlea-rescue-helicopter.
This is a Public Interest Journalism funded role through NZ On Air
