Crew Transports Neve from Mt Robert Ridge Track 

Written by Morag on behalf of Neve’s mother

I am getting in touch to express my gratitude for the amazing work your team does.

On Easter Sunday my family were walking the Robert Ridge Track out of Lake Angelus Hut towards Bushline Hut. As we were walking out, my daughter’s best friend, who is 12, had a simple trip but managed to dislocate her patella and was in agony.

It became obvious very quickly that we were not going to be able to manage this situation or get her safely off the track as she was in so much pain. We had cell phone reception and called 111 and from that point on everyone that I dealt with was professional and reassuring. 

Your amazing team was with us within 30 mins and within an hour, her patella was back in place. The Pilot, Dion, did a great job landing on a ridge and then Neve was looked after by two excellent paramedics: Matt and Kodee.

I would particularly like to thank Matt who was the perfect combination of firmness and kindness with his reassurance and calm demeanour which made us feel completely safe. 

We were treated so well, and I think it is extremely impressive that a child can injure herself on a mountain and have her patella relocated within an hour and then be in an Emergency Department within 1 hour 45 minutes. There were many examples of kindness during this event: from caring for Neve, to looking after my daughter who was extremely upset and to getting us all safely off the walk with our rucksacks too. This was especially stressful for us as we were not her parents, and we could then call her parents and reassure them very quickly that all would be well.

So, a really heartfelt thanks from the Aldridges and Neve from Christchurch.

Carry on your excellent work!

A message from Neve’s parents who were in Christchurch at the time of the accident, ‘Firstly a huge thank you to the heli rescue team for all that you did for Neve over Easter with her dislocated knee. Pretty incredible service to pick her up and get her to hospital so promptly ♥️