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Photo credit: Allan Ure, Photos4sale

As part of his training for the 60km Kepler Challenge Mountain Run through Fiordland National Park, Stu was running to the top of Mount Matthews, the highest peak in the rugged Remutaka Forest Park. Just 20 minutes after reaching the summit and as he ran back down, Stu explains:

“I was trying to get into cruise mode when my heels lost traction and went out from under me.

With my hands clipped into my running poles, one sharp end gripped the ground, spinning me around until my face was in the dirt, arm stretched out in a painful position.

I somehow managed to reach over, unclip my hand and roll onto my back. My left arm was barely moving, and a bulge had popped out at the front of my shoulder.”

Stu had dislocated his shoulder.

He was in pain, high up on Mount Matthews in a remote and hard to access location, with developing rain and high winds – Stu describes the winds as “the-ground-was-moving-as-roots-were-being-lifted up type winds”. Stu had taken his earphones and glasses off for parts of the trail on the run up because he felt it was “unusually windy” – as a Wellingtonian, this gives you an idea about just how windy the day was!

Stu gingerly got to his feet as his watch started beeping – it had detected a fall and was trying to notify someone. However, due to his location, Stu didn’t have any mobile phone reception.

He managed to call his wife and “somehow got through. But just after explaining I was hurt, the call dropped. So now, my wife - already flat out helping with our daughters’ end of year dance show - was wondering what to do next.”

A slow and shaky descent

With no people or help in sight, Stu had no choice but to make a ‘shaky descent’, trying to support his arm while keeping his footing.

After getting blown sideways off an exposed section of the track, thankfully he soon encountered Mikayla and Adam – until that very moment, two people who were complete strangers to him.

Stu explains: “They happened to be taking a breather at one of the few spots on the mountain with cell reception. They sprang into action to help this random guy. Not only did they coordinate with emergency services, but they also helped me into my survival bag, used their bodies as windbreaks, gave me constant encouragement, and put Adam’s hat on my head!”

Mikalya and Adam were able to ring 111 but there “was no way the helicopter could get in – it was too windy for it to land”.

Instead, a coordinated emergency response of police, Land Search and Rescue, and the Wellington Free Ambulance Rescue Squad was dispatched. The Rescue Squad is trained in specialist patient extraction techniques and can provide medical care in remote outdoor areas. 

Help arrives

Due to Stu’s remote location, worsening weather and with the river expected to rise overnight, the emergency response required plenty of planning, including deciding the best access point, the best driving route to reach and extract Stu, and Rescue Squad members and Paramedics Kaden and Francis preparing to overnight with Stu, if needed.

By this stage Stu “was shivering uncontrollably [when Stu later explained how he was feeling to Paramedic Kaden, Kaden said hypothermia was setting in – Stu’s core body temperature was dropping below 35 degrees Celsius] and pretty uncomfortable. I started to feel quite worried about where this was all heading, and I didn’t feel ‘with it’. The call was made to try and descend the mountain.

I’m grateful we did, as I started to warm up while walking. Mikalya and Adam were brilliant and took good care of me, keeping me company on the long way down as I tried to avoid sudden movements.”

Stu recalls how “Mikayla and Adam sacrificed their own plans and patiently stayed with me as we made our way down the steep trail. Imagine descending a mountain with someone carrying a cup of tea - that’s how patient they had to be.”

Following a painstakingly slow descent, they “finally saw the headlights of the police and Wellington Free Ambulance four-wheel-drives coming to meet us” – something Stu describes as a “relief”.

Coordinating Stu’s rescue

Coordinating Stu's rescue was a joint effort, as Paramedic and Shift Manager Francis explains:  

“We drove up the Ōrongorongo Valley to the base of Mt Matthews, anticipating a challenging rescue operation. It was a relief to see Stu making his way down to the riverbed, albeit moving slowly and clearly in significant pain. Stu had an obvious dislocated shoulder, and the most appropriate treatment would be to relocate the shoulder before attempting any extraction. 

Our rescue vehicle was equipped with a stretcher, which allowed us to perform the relocation procedure effectively. As darkness began to fall and the weather conditions worsened, we secured Stu onto the stretcher and navigated out of the Ōrongorongo Valley to Hutt Hospital, where Stu received further assessment and treatment for his shoulder. 

Throughout the entire operation, the combination of preparation, teamwork, and the right equipment ensured that we could provide Stu with the necessary care and safely transport him to the hospital despite difficult conditions.”

The road back to running

Following his hospital discharge, Stu is currently undergoing physiotherapy and working to regain strength and mobility in his left shoulder with the goal of attempting the 50km Tarawera Ultra-Trail in Rotorua in February 2025.  He’s also recently met up with Mikayla and Adam for lunch to thank them again for their help.

Although Stu was well-prepared with his running kit, he says he’s “got a few lessons out of my experience”, including the need for strong painkillers when he’s adventuring outdoors and a new piece of communications technology that will allow him to call for help, even if he’s outside mobile phone coverage. He thinks about how Mikayla and Adam were the only other humans he saw after his accident, “the last people on the mountain”, and how things could have turned out very differently for him.

Reflecting on his experience, Stu believes “Wellington Free Ambulance, police and Land Search and Rescue were all helpful, warm, caring and professional. They had come prepared with packs and tents to head up the mountain and stay the night - legends!

You hear about the Rescue Squad and think, theoretically, that they do a great job. But until you’re the one on the receiving end of their help, you don’t realise that they do it so well.

It’s a first-class service.”

For Shift Manager and Rescue Squad member Francis, “working in the WFA Rescue Squad is deeply fulfilling, offering the chance to make a significant impact on people’s lives beyond typical ambulance duties. While the complexity of incidents and physical demands can be challenging, the diverse experiences and strong sense of teamwork make the role continually appealing.”