Lizzie's Story - Matarangi

In hindsight, there were things she would have done differently on the day of her accident. “Including wearing a helmet,” she tells us with regret.

Matarangi holds a special place for the 66-year-old and her partner John. It also has its fair share of rabbit holes. On Boxing Day last year, the active couple had just been to the shops for an ice cream via e-scooters when things took an unexpected turn.

“I was trying to manoeuvre around a parked house bus and spotted a short cut over the grass. What I didn’t see was the rabbit hole. I don’t go fast but I fell sideways, hitting my head on the concrete.” Lizzie knew straight away something was wrong. “I was having trouble stringing two words together. All I wanted to do was sleep,” she says.

John called for help which set off what emergency services call, ‘the chain of survival’. With Lizzie on blood thinners, he feared for the love of his life. Within minutes, the Whitianga-based Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter was on scene. Lizzie remembers Pilot James introducing himself. “Just like Bob the Builder,” she replied. Something wasn’t right.

Lizzie was flown to North Shore Hospital in a serious condition. Suffering a traumatic brain injury, her road to recovery continues. If she’d suffered a brain bleed, she knows she could have died.  The couple support the service any way they can and already have their ticket for the Classic Car Lottery.

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