About Us

The lambs kept moving in the wrong direction, and Brad made the decision to follow them down a steep hill on his motorbike. That decision had a huge consequence for Brad.

 “About halfway down the hill, I went over a bump and lost my balance, which sent me over the handlebars,” says Brad.

 “My left ankle was the first part of me to hit the ground and despite never breaking a bone before I knew instantly that it was badly broken.”

 Brad shouted to Harry, the farm shepherd, for help, and managed to call 111, but when the call taker asked Brad where he was, he realised how difficult it was going to be for an ambulance to get to him.

 “Thoughts of a helicopter rescue were going through my head, but I asked them to send the ambulance to the house at the bottom of the farm knowing that with the shepherd with me, we had a decent chance of getting me off that hill.”

 “Harry helped me onto the back of his off-road vehicle. He did an incredible job and without him things would have much worse,” says Brad.

 Paramedics Les McKay and Charlotte (Charlie) McCormick soon arrived at the house, and Brad’s family took them to the paddock where Brad was now waiting.

 “This was definitely a highlight of the job,” says Les. “The side by side 4x4 ride to get to Brad was great, up dirt tracks, across creek beds and amongst some pretty amazing forestry.”

 When Les and Charlie reached Brad, they were very impressed to find that Harry had used two pieces of farm fence batons and a tie down strap to splint Brad’s leg with his boot still on, enabling some support until help arrived. 

 “When the paramedics arrived, they were amazing and put me at ease right away with their calm and professional manner, which helped us all in such a scary situation,” says Brad.

 The paramedics assessed and treated Brad, and then started the journey to Wellington Hospital. Noticing that his ankle potentially required some extra treatment, they arranged to travel via Porirua ambulance station so that Rodney Parnell, an Intensive Care Paramedic, could help to safely splint the ankle. Then together they all carried on down to Wellington Hospital, accompanied by Brad’s fiancée Stacy.

 “Everyone was great with me as well,” says Stacy. They made sure I was okay and that I knew what was going on. They treated Brad like royalty!”

 “I don’t remember much up until being in the ambulance on the way to Wellington Hospital, but I do know that the way the ambulance staff treated me was amazing,” says Brad.

“They made the whole situation very easy, and I felt like I could trust them. The relief I felt getting into the back of that ambulance was almost indescribable and I will be forever grateful for everyone involved in getting me to the hospital.”

If you would like to support Wellington Free Ambulance to continue to be here for people like Brad, please make a donation.  Each year we need to raise around $7M to keep our services free of charge to anyone who needs us. Thank you for your support. Donate today.