About us

A father of five, Josh has always been a hard worker to provide for his family. In early 2023 he took a job that was closer to home, giving him more time with his partner and kids without a long commute to and from work each day.

The day of Josh’s accident started in a similar way to many other days – he remembers talking to his partner on the phone as he drove to work about the plans they had for after work that day. 

“I had just started this job, cleaning buildings, I was pleased to be in work and doing something new”, Josh says.

Josh recalls it was a particularly wet day; there had been a lot of rain, and it was still raining as they arrived at the work site for the day.  The task that morning was to remove rust and wash the roof of an inner-city Wellington building. 

“I felt a bit hesitant as it wasn’t a great day, something didn’t feel quite right as we got ready to go on the roof” explains Josh.

“Me and my workmate got up on the roof and started the cleaning, moving to separate areas of the roof. It was quite a large building so lots of space to cover.”

The next bit is, according to Josh, “fill in the blanks”.

The aftermath of the accident

Josh was found on the ground six metres below the roof of the building by a member of the public. It was down an alleyway and in the wet, dark conditions it was fortunate he was even spotted by the passerby who rushed to his aid and immediately called 111.

Josh was not conscious, breathing or responding in any way – CPR was immediately required by the bystander as ambulance crews rushed to the scene. 

Arriving at the scene about four minutes after the 111 call, Wellington Free Ambulance paramedics Steve, Emma, and Dav immediately recognised that Josh was clinging to life. 

Josh had multiple critical injuries from the fall, including life-threatening blood loss from a serious head injury. The entire right side of his body had broken bones from shoulder to ankle, and he also had two broken femurs. A broken femur is immediately life-threatening due to the risk of internal bleeding which can drop your blood pressure and lead to shock.  Spinal injuries, a collapsed lung, and a compromised airway meant Josh was very close to death.

Insights from Wellington Free paramedics

Intensive Care Paramedic Steve remembers providing initial pre-hospital care to Josh:

“When we arrived on the scene, bystanders were doing CPR on Josh. He was unresponsive and we recognised that he needed stabilising and transporting to hospital rapidly if he were to survive. The more we worked on Josh the more injuries we uncovered and the more we collectively felt that survival was unlikely, but we needed to give him the best chance possible.

We opened his chest to relieve pressure on his lungs and allow him to breathe. We stabilised the fractures that we could, gave him pain relief and medication to reduce his bleeding, and then got him to hospital as fast as we could.” 

The crew travelling under lights and sirens transported Josh from the central Wellington accident site to Wellington Hospital in just under 7 minutes. From the initial call to Josh being assessed by emergency doctors was just under 33 minutes.  This fast response and excellent clinical care from Wellington Free Ambulance paramedics Steve, Emma and Dav made the difference for Josh.

‘Prepare for the worst’

Once at hospital, Josh wasn’t in the clear. With the extent of his injuries, his family was told to prepare for the worst – and if he did survive, the thinking of doctors was he would not be the same. 

“That was hard for my partner, my kids, not knowing if I was going to survive, and if I did what I would be like. But at least I had a chance to survive thanks to Wellington Free Ambulance,” says Josh.

After numerous surgeries and treatments to address his injuries, Josh stabilised enough to be transferred to the spinal unit at Burwood Hospital in Christchurch, with his dad and partner by his side as much as possible.

This is where he began looking to the future – what rehab would look like, what life would look like. During his recovery, he’s had to accomplish many milestones: being taken off the ventilator, moving his legs, learning to talk again, slowing regaining independence.

Nowadays, Josh “feels better about what happened to me and I can talk openly about it” – although he admits to a sense of frustration and regret about what happened and how he “wishes I could go back to normal”.

“It’s hard to put into words what Wellington Free Ambulance means to me. They don’t just provide a service - they give people like me a second chance at life. They are the difference between families losing loved ones and stories of survival.”

Josh generously shared his story because “I want to say thank you. Thank you for giving me the gift of more time with my family, more chances to laugh, more opportunities to rebuild my life”. He adds:

“Wellington Free Ambulance runs on community support. Please, if you can, consider donating or supporting them - because one day, it could be your life, or someone you love, that they save.

They saved mine.”

Our team of world class paramedics can only be there for people like Josh thanks to your support. Please donate to ensure others who find themselves fighting for life due to accident or illness are given the best chance possible: www.supportwfa.org.nz