Life-saving flight for Whitianga woman

Kat Kelsall was kept alive thanks to the quick work of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew.

Whitianga mother of five Kat Kelsall is forever indebted to paramedics from the Westpac Rescue Helicopter who airlifted her to Waikato Hospital after an asthma attack and blood clot left her at the brink.

Kelsall said the team from Westpac Rescue Helicopter made a house call as she was too unstable to transport to a landing area. “They kept me alive until I got to the hospital. I was category one, status two - near death.

“They definitely went above and beyond.”

Kelsall was diagnosed with pneumonia in her lungs and severe asthma on August 12 last year - a condition she had not previously suffered with.

“I’d never had asthma until my first attack,” said Kelsall, who was also diagnosed at the hospital with a blood clot on her lungs.

“I was in and out of ICU and HDU, it was pretty crazy stuff.”

Westpac Rescue Helicopter's missions range from medical transfers to providing aid and assistance to those living in remote locations.

She said if not for the intervention of the chopper crew, things would have been grim: “As fit as I was, I would not have made it. I fought for life.”

Unfortunately, the fitness coach has become a frequent flyer since the first onset of symptoms in August 2022 and revealed she has since been transported to Waikato Hospital a further seven times with similar medical concerns.

“As soon as my number comes up they are dispatched to Whitianga, and it comes from Auckland or Hamilton depending on availability.

“I owe my life to them.”

People who would like to donate to help the work of the Auckland and Coromandel Westpac Rescue Helicopter can do so by visiting: rescuehelicopter.org.nz.