Life Flight

It was just like any other Friday for Pip and Wayne, who were going about their usual morning routine in their Feilding home. Wayne was making some breakfast downstairs whilst Pip was in the shower. She suddenly felt a massive pain in her head, placed a towel down and lay on the floor. Wayne raced upstairs and helped her to bed.

Thinking it was a migraine, Pip took some Panadeine; however, they called the doctor, who was worried about the lack of change in her condition after a while. “Without even seeing her, our doctor said, ‘get her to a hospital, now'”.

Once at Palmerston North Hospital, Pip was triaged straightaway. The medical team started doing scans and easing the pain. “Pip was super sensitive to light, so pretty much had a towel around her eyes the whole time”.

Waiting to know the seriousness of the situation, Wayne soon discovered that Pip would need to be transferred to Wellington Hospital; she was suffering an aneurysm. An aneurysm is a bleed in the brain, and with a survival rate of just 60%, time is crucial to recovery.

“My initial reaction was that we were going to the best place possible as far as the care side of it goes. Before we knew it, we were being packed up into an ambulance and taken to the airport”. The flight team met Pip and Wayne at the hospital and took them to the plane. She was loaded onboard on a stretcher with a pair of earmuffs to quieten the noise.

From the minute Life Flight arrived, their whole demeanour was calm; they reassured us and talked us through the process. I know they have done this a million times, but it felt like we were the first ones; the only ones that mattered right then.

-Wayne, Pip’s husband

Once admitted to the Neurology Ward at Wellington Hospital, the doctors could avoid complete cranial surgery and stop the aneurysm with a stent. Their daughter and son-in-law were able to come down and visit Pip and see how she was doing. They then drove Wayne back home to grab some things for the week ahead. After spending nine days in the hospital, Pip could return home by ambulance this time.

“I have come through this amazingly well. I didn’t need any other rehabilitation with balance and speech”. Since Pip has arrived home, they have found out they will be grandparents for the first time.

We’ve been given a second opportunity at life, and this news tops it off. Throughout the whole process, we can’t speak highly enough of the team for getting our Pip home again.