Crash victim 'blessed to be alive'

RESCUE: Firefighters and paramedics shelter Kim Powers as she is transferred to the Life Flight Westpac rescue helicopter.

Masterton woman Kim Powers is back from the brink of death.

In January last year the 25-year-old was driving to work when she crashed into a power pole near Clareville in wet conditions.

The car was ripped in two.

But she survived thanks to a time-critical extrication by fire crews and the Life Flight rescue crew who performed a high-risk procedure, called rapid sequence induction, which is only used in the most critical cases.

Miss Powers suffered a brain injury, cut-up legs, a broken arm and jaw, and spent four weeks in a coma.

Her family also had to face turning her life support off.

"It was very close. I'm just blessed to be alive," she said.

Life Flight communication manager Sebastian Grodd said it was a life-or-death situation.

"Due to critical injuries she only had a very short time to live, and our helicopter was the only option.

"Our team spent almost an hour on scene stabilising her before being able to get her on board for the emergency flight to Wellington Hospital for urgent surgery."

Miss Powers said she was alive because of them.

"They just tried everything to get to me.

"They almost couldn't come. They just tried anyway.

"I'm just so thankful."

Mr Grood said the winds were very high that day, near the upper limit of what their chopper was capable of flying in.

Miss Powers is slowly remembering the day she crashed, January 5, but doesn't remember crashing or the flight.

Josje Bertram, a family friend whom Miss Powers was living with at the time, said family and friends weren't sure if she was going to make it.

"The doctor said, 'We'll give it one more week and the family will have to decide whether to take the life support off', but within that week she recovered remarkably."

It was at the ABI rehab unit in Porirua that Miss Powers began to realise what had happened.

"I can't really remember about waking up, but I do remember funny things.

"I thought I was in a rest home because I used to work in a rest home."

Since the crash her life had changed dramatically, but she was taking it one day at a time.

She has trouble walking as a result of the brain injury - her left side is not responding as it should - but she has just started walking short distances.

"Some days are more frustrating than others but you get there," she said. "But I have come a long long way from where I was."

Her goal is to walk by August.

"Some people give up. I'm not going to do that. I'm determined to walk again."

She also plans to finish her vet nursing diploma.

Life Flight flew three emergency missions a week on average last year in Wairarapa and the service needs to raise an average of $2500 for every person it saves.

The Westpac Chopper Appeal starts today with a nationwide street collection.

All donations will go to the region they're collected from.

Donations can be made to street collectors, at any Westpac branch or at: www.chopperappeal.co.nz