About us

Probably like most of us, Winton never thought much about ambulances when he was very young. But because of what he experienced in his childhood, he believes he did ride in an ambulance, at least once.

Winton recalls at 10 months old he was seriously ill in hospital with haemophilus influenzae meningitis. (This is a potentially deadly form of bacterial meningitis, which is the swelling of the membranes that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord.) Winton describes how his “life was hanging on only the slenderest thread of chance”. About 20 months later, he was back in hospital, this time seriously ill with the rare but serious infectious disease diphtheria.

“My prognosis for survival was 50/50”, Winton explains. “I spent many weeks in a steam tent as part of the treatment – yes, I do remember the tent!”.

“It’s said that things sometimes come in threes,” Winton says – and it was true in his case. Over several months, he experienced a series of extreme and unusual episodes as a result of the diphtheria. Without warning everything around him would start turning, “the spinning would get faster and faster until I blacked out. Thankfully, with the help of a great doctor and some very large pills, I was cured before starting school”.

The first of many remembered rides

Winton never went near a hospital for the next 55 years (beyond a minor procedure to have polyps removed from his nasal passage). “To this day, I don’t have any long-term medical conditions and take no regular medications,” Winton explains.

However, at 60 years old, “I was struck down with a very bad incarcerated inguinal hernia” [where abdominal tissue becomes trapped and can’t be pushed back in] and had “my first ride of three, in an ambulance, courtesy of Wellington Free...”

Between 2002 and 2022, Winton had three hernia operations, three hip operations (including a full hip replacement), a growth removed from his wrist, endoscopic sinus surgery [specialised, camera-guided instruments are inserted through the nostrils] and a cyst removed from his back.

It was after those experiences that Winton recalls “the thought entered my mind that perhaps it was time to offer some support to Wellington Free, by way of a regular contribution”.

As well as becoming someone who donates on a regular, ongoing basis, when Winton updated his Will he decided to “include Wellington Free, along with another charity I support, as the main beneficiaries, as I don’t have a family”.

Keeping a legacy of care in the family

It’s not only Winton who decided to leave a gift in his Will to Wellington Free, his older brother Keith did too.

Winton explains:

“Keith was almost 10 years older than me. There were four girls between us. He chose to enter the Presbyterian Ministry and spent six years at Knox College Dunedin. Keith was ordained into the ministry in 1967. Over those many years he would have seen first-hand the needs of many.

Like me, having no family, he also decided to do some good with the funds he had accrued. After leaving something to siblings and long time, personal friends, he left a legacy to seven charities.”

Keith passed away in 2022. His bequest contributed to building the new Wairarapa Ambulance Station in Masterton, making a real and lasting difference to our communities and staff.

Thank you, Winton, for sharing your and Keith’s story with us and for choosing to remember us in your Will. For more information about leaving a gift in your Will, please visit our dedicated website page.