It had been every parent's worst nightmare as Mel Roborgh desperately tried to keep her 8-week-old baby, Iris, alive before paramedics arrived. Photos / Supplied
It had been every parent's worst nightmare as Mel Roborgh desperately tried to keep her 8-week-old baby, Iris, alive before paramedics arrived. Photos / Supplied
When Mel Roborgh’s 8-week-old daughter went limp in her arms, she thought she was watching her baby die.
Moments later, the thundering blades of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter were her only hope.
Roborgh, who teaches at Hanmer Springs School, still recalls the morning vividly.
It was December 2017, andshe had woken early to check on baby Iris, who had been a little warm but otherwise seemed fine.
Her husband, Robbie, had gone out to work on the Leslie Hills farm north of Culverden, taking their 2-year-old daughter with him.
“She was almost making a bit of a grunting noise, so I put her mouth up to the phone so the staff could hear, and they called for an ambulance.”
Transferred to a call with paramedics, Roborgh tried to stay calm as Iris suddenly deteriorated.
“At that point, she just went floppy in my arms; it was horrible,” she said.
Iris Roborgh, now a healthy and energetic child, was just 8 weeks old when she was airlifted to hospital in a life-or-death rescue. Photo / Supplied
“The ambulance man on the phone took complete control and talked me through what to do. He was telling me to put her on a flat surface and listen to her breathing. She hadn’t stopped breathing, but she sounded like she was struggling.”
The ambulance arrived within 15 minutes and immediately called for a helicopter.
“I just felt sick, I had no idea what was going on with my baby,” Roborgh said.
Within 24 minutes, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter landed beside the house. Ten minutes later, Iris was inside, connected to oxygen and heart monitors.
“The helicopter paramedics just came in and took complete control and the absolute relief when they do, I just can’t even put it into words.”
During the flight, Roborgh stared at her baby’s ashen face.
“I was just looking at her, and she was almost a grey, ashy colour, she just looked terrible. It was really scary. I thought she was going to die.”
At the hospital, Iris was rushed for tests.
Within 24 minutes, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter landed right next to the house and 10 minutes later, Iris was loaded into the chopper and hooked up to oxygen and heart monitoring machines. Photo / George Heard
“She had become listless and wasn’t crying or fussing when hospital staff were checking her over and running tests, which is something you’d expect from a baby,” Roborgh said.
Doctors diagnosed a grade-five kidney reflux and a severe kidney infection that had spread into her bloodstream. After 10 days on an IV drip, Iris was finally well enough to go home.
Roborgh said the paramedics’ calm professionalism kept her grounded.
“The relief was immense when the chopper turned up. They just took the panic out of the situation,” she said.
“I was still terrified, but they helped me to stay grounded and were very good at talking me through each step, like explaining the heart rate monitor patterns while we were in the chopper.”
Now, she’s looking forward to Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa’s Night for Flight fundraiser, which supports the Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopters and a new local helipad.
“Living rurally, you’re sort of isolated from town and not close to hospitals or major health facilities so it’s really important to know that somebody is going to come and be there for you and help you,” she said.
“Without the Westpac Rescue Helicopters, the outcome for our daughter could have been very different so we’re really grateful to them for saving our girl.”
