Duty crew that day of Hamish Ramsey (pilot) and Ian Clarke (crewman) with the hospital flight team, flew Steve Salkeld to Wellington Hospital for lifesaving heart surge.
Duty crew that day of Hamish Ramsey (pilot) and Ian Clarke (crewman) with the hospital flight team, flew Steve Salkeld to Wellington Hospital for lifesaving heart surge.
While a free service to the public and those in need, each helicopter rescue mission run by Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter (HBRHT) costs an average of $7500 and with hundreds of rescues performed a year in Hawke’s Bay that cost quickly adds up.
As an organisation that runs on donations, HBRHT is currently working on the biggest single fundraising project they have ever attempted, in the hope of helping keep the helicopter free and available 24/7 and winning a great car.
For the price of a $50 ticket, the trust’s car lottery gives the community a chance to help keep the rescue helicopter saving Hawke’s Bay lives, while also giving those who buy a ticket a chance to win a brand new car and not just any car, a Mustang MACH-E GT.
With just six weeks to go until the lottery closes, HBRHT has almost sold 1700 tickets and aims to reach at least 12,500 tickets as that would help fund our service for almost six months.
HBRHT marketing and fundraising manager Amber McArthur explained the rescue helicopter is important for the region because “In a life and death situation, every minute counts, and our service, especially in rural or remote locations is often the patient’s only chance for survival.
“Our dedicated and highly skilled crew are available 24/7 to support the Hawke’s Bay community whether it is through a natural disaster or a regular day.”
Someone who knows all about the importance of the rescue helicopter is Steve Salkeld, Bay Mazda Hastings dealer principal, who only six months ago saw his life change in the blink of an eye when he needed rescuing.
Steve Salkeld with one of his lifesavers, Brent McArthur, who jumped in to perform CPR during the bike race, at the HBRHT hangar.
Salkeld has been donating to HBRHT for years and is one of its key sponsors, providing three crew vehicles for the on-duty crew, however, he felt confident that he was supporting a vital service for others, but he never thought he would become the one in desperate need.
A fit healthy man, Salkeld is also one of those people that you would never imagine would have a massive heart attack and nearly die.
Well, six months ago that is exactly what happened when he took part in a cyclocross race, an obstacle cycling race that includes grass, pavement, sand, dirt and mud at Roys Hill.
As someone who regularly does these races, Salkeld was looking forward to the physical challenge and felt great as the race started, but not long into it, he started to feel a bit off. He decided to pull out of the race but before he could do that, his heart stopped, and he collapsed.
In those initial harrowing moments, two competitors behind him leaped into action - one started CPR and the second raced to retrieve the defibrillator.
Salkeld said, “The first thing I remember is coming around to a massive pain in my chest which was from broken ribs and a punctured lung from the CPR.
“I am told that shows that the guys were doing CPR correctly and those two heroes absolutely saved my life by doing that.”
Buy a lottery ticket, save a life through HBRHT and possibly win a brand new Mustang MACH-E GT.
Assessed at the Hawke’s Bay Hospital, Salkeld needed to urgently fly to Wellington for open heart surgery. Just over four hours after his heart attack, he was in the rescue helicopter with the crew and hospital flight team flying him down to Wellington.
The helicopter trip went well and the Hawke’s Bay man was chatting with the crew through the flight but as they landed on the rooftop of Wellington Hospital, he crashed again.
“I know that I was incredibly lucky that all of the links in the chain of my rescue were so efficient and quick; the CPR I was given, the St John Ambulance crew response, the ED specialists at HB Hospital, the rescue helicopter crew and the hospital flight team – which meant that I was lucky enough to have arrived at the place I needed to be, before I arrested that second time,” Salkeld said.
The car dealer didn’t really understand how truly incredible the service was until he was the one on the patient’s stretcher being flown for lifesaving specialist medical treatment.
“It is so reassuring to know that the service is here for absolutely everyone who needs it and when they need it and now that I know that from my own experience – I also feel good knowing that I have been able to support the crew to be there when they are needed.”
He added, “I feel so very humbled that I was the recipient of this wonderful service and I owe my life to them. Words cannot express how grateful I am and feel very blessed that they were for me when I needed them.”
Salkeld is now putting his support behind the team even more and has helped HBRHT organise the Mustang which made it easier to put the lottery together.
Join Salkeld in supporting the HBRBHT by buying a car lottery ticket and while donating you may also win a brand new car, however, if you don’t win the car you still win by helping save someone’s life in the future.
Tickets are on sale until November 30 or until they sell out. and the draw will be held at the hangar in Hastings on December 1.
