Jesse's injuries included micro-tears to his brain, a lacerated right lung, and fractures to his scapula and vertebrae. Photo / Supplied
Jesse's injuries included micro-tears to his brain, a lacerated right lung, and fractures to his scapula and vertebrae. Photo / Supplied
When 11-year-old Jesse fell 4-5 metres from a tree in October, his injuries included micro-tears to his brain, a lacerated right lung, and fractures to his scapula and vertebrae.
Today, the Tauranga boy is back attending school part-time and has mostly recovered his normal levels of movement, speech, memory and balance.
Now his family want to tell his story to thank the Aerocool Rescue Helicopter crew whose swift response, they say, gave Jesse the best chance of making a full recovery.
In a press release via the Philips Search & Rescue Trust, Jesse’s mum, Karina, said her “heart stopped” the day Jesse fell.
“I was so terrified, I could hardly breathe,” Karina said.
It was the October school holidays and her three sons were climbing a tree at the park behind the family’s Tauranga home, Karina said in the release. The family asked their last name not be used due to Jesse’s age and continued journey to recovery.
The branch Jesse was standing on suddenly gave way and he fell 4-5 metres, hitting the ground in front of where his mother was sitting.
“Jesse was unresponsive, not breathing and turning purple.
“I just screamed.”
11-year-old Jesse fell out of a tree behind his family's Tauranga home in October. Photo / Supplied
Karina’s calls for help were heard by two neighbours who called emergency services.
Later, a nurse and courier driver also came over.
“After about a minute, Jesse started breathing on his own and groaning in pain. He was semi-conscious but couldn’t speak or respond to any cues,” Karina said.
Within 10-15 minutes of Jesse’s accident, the ambulance arrived and sedated him to help with the pain and calm him down.
Ambulance staff told Karina the fall had potentially resulted in a brain injury that may require urgent surgery and Jesse needed to be transported to Waikato Hospital immediately.
The Aerocool Rescue Helicopter was able to land directly in the park and the crew worked quickly to stabilise Jesse. Critical care flight paramedics performed rapid sequence intubation to keep him alive, stabilised, and breathing.
“When they did that, my husband, Sybrand, and I felt relief that he was stable and going to the right place,” Karina said.
The paramedics loaded Jesse into the helicopter and whisked him away to Waikato Hospital in a critical condition.
Karina flew with him.
“The ride in the helicopter was for me, a mixture of fear for the extent of his injuries, shock at what had just happened, and relief that the best was being done for him.”
Jesse arrived at the hospital in 35 minutes and was met by an emergency medical team.
A CT scan of his brain determined he was lucky to have escaped any major bleeds to his brain.
“Jesse’s main injury was a Diffuse Axonal Injury to his brain, which is lots of tiny tears throughout the brain. He also lacerated his right lung, fractured his right scapula, and fractured his C2 vertebrae at the odontoid peg,” Karina said.
Tauranga mum Karina (right) and her family wanted to thank Aerocool Rescue Helicopter for saving 11-year-old Jesse. Photo / Supplied
Despite Jesse’s list of injuries, Karina was told he would recover fully.
“I called my husband and the relief we both felt was immense. It was an incredibly emotional time for us both.”
Jesse’s first memory after the fall is a couple of days later in the hospital being told what had happened.
He was very dazed and sleepy for the first eight days in the hospital but eventually began to show signs of improvement in terms of alertness and memory.
Karina said he had made a steady recovery to normal speech, memory, balance, and movement and managed to return to school part-time in term four last year.
He continued to be supported by a rehabilitation team in Tauranga and was expected to complete his recovery this year.
It was a relief to Jesse’s family and friends that the rescue helicopter was able to arrive on the scene so quickly on the day of his accident, giving Jesse the best chance of a full recovery.
“Our family is so thankful for all the care Jesse received,” Karina said.
“The rescue helicopter crew were amazing, their clinical skills were truly lifesaving. Jesse’s accident was such a shock to us but the relief of having him so quickly receive the treatment he needed, and being taken to the right place, was immense.
