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We are the only emergency ambulance service in greater Wellington and the Wairarapa, and the only ones in the country who are free.
We are the only emergency ambulance service in greater Wellington and the Wairarapa, and the only ones in the country who are free.
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Joanna’s story – “There is nothing better you can offer anyone but life. I’ll be forever grateful.”
Joanna’s story – “There is nothing better you can offer anyone but life. I’ll be forever grateful.”
09 July 2024
Joanna’s story – “There is nothing better you can offer anyone but life. I’ll be forever grateful.”
Joanna’s day started pretty normally. It was a clear blue-sky morning as she biked the short distance between home and her usual gym class. After doing some post work-out chores, Joanna headed home on her bike, a routine she’d done many times. But this day, instead of arriving home for lunch, she would wake up weeks later from an induced coma, her family by her ICU hospital bedside. Read Joanna’s miraculous story of survival.
Joanna was clinging to life when an accident left her body wedged, motionless, pinned under the front of a car.
As the Wellington Free Ambulance crew arrived, Joanna was barely conscious. Collapsed lungs, a serious head injury and significant crush injuries meant Joanna was in the most serious of life-threatening situations. Immediate expert medical treatment was vital to keep her alive.
Head of Emergency Ambulance Kate, and one of the responders, explains:
“When we arrived on scene – one of the first priorities was maintaining her airway and assisting with her breathing. The team used a chest tube to relieve the impact of some of the injuries to Joanna’s chest, supporting her to breathe.”
The immediate goal of our paramedics’ treatment was to get Joanna stable and transfer her to hospital.
The true extent of the ‘horrific’ injuries
It would be several days before Joanna would learn that that she had been runover by a car. She had been scalped, had multiple fractures including a broken neck, fractured spine, ribs, pelvis, and collarbone as well as collapsed lungs and loss of hearing, among her other injuries.
“I am grateful that I don’t have many memories from the accident itself”, Joanna recalls.
Joanna may not remember the incident that almost robbed her of everything, but she is adamant that the response and medical treatment from Wellington Free Ambulance saved her.
As Joanna says, “I know what they did saved me, everyone in the hospital kept on saying that the paramedics who tended to me immediately saved me, gave me life.”
“It’s hard to imagine the things that the paramedics see and have to deal with, they are amazing people who rush to people like me, having their worst, most life-changing experiences. And they do show up, they show up and they save lives. Those words sound far too simple, but it’s the truth, they showed up, gave me expert medical care, and saved me.”
Getting back to the things she loves
After 7 weeks in hospital, multiple operations, countless hours, and many months of hard work in rehabilitation, Joanna is looking forward to getting back to doing some of the things she loves. Swimming in the sea, volunteering in her community, walking along the beach and in the hills around her home.
We’re reluctant to use the word ‘miracle’ but to hear Joanna’s experience and to understand the severity of her injuries, there’s definitely a place for that word in describing her recovery.
Regardless, the quick response and expert clinical medical care from the Wellington Free Ambulance paramedics is undoubtedly the main reason Joanna is able to share her story today.
As she says – “there is no better gift you can give to anyone but life.”