January 6, 2019
A South Auckland teenager who saved his little brother by pushing his pram to safety seconds before being struck by a car has been on a long road to recovery.
Caleb Currey has had to fill in the missing pieces of what unfolded in the March 2018 crash.
"I actually don't remember anything from the day."
The morning had begun like so many others, as he readied his little brother Sonny, 3, for daycare in Waiuku.
"He went to a daycare that was on the other side of town, so it was always a long walk and I always wanted to make shortcuts."
Caleb did not see the oncoming car until it was too late.
He had nearly made it to the footpath when he had to push the pram out of harm's way.
The 17-year-old was flung forward in the crash, with the impact causing a head fracture and brain bleed.
"I have seen the footage of it, the CCTV footage, and it was 10 metres," he said.
"It wasn't good."
As well as head injuries, he broke his shoulder and burst a blood vessel in his eye.
Emergency services rushed to the Kitchener Rd crash on March 8 shortly after 8am.
The car had been travelling to the speed limit of the residential area.
"The rescue helicopter came about 20 minutes after the accident," Caleb said.
"I was in hospital for five days and since then I have been going to Habit rehab. They have been helping me with memory. They have done a lot for me."
The memory gaps for Caleb were marked.
"I forgot a lot of people which was pretty hard and I still don't remember people's names.
"It gets really frustrating not just for me but for everybody else."
Caleb admits he pressured himself to go back to school too soon after the accident.
"I couldn't do a lot of things anymore. It really messed up my schooling."
He had to go back for another term to get more NCEA credits, he said.
But he still counts himself lucky it was not worse, he said.
He later met members of the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter team to thank them for their help.
"They said I looked a lot different than how I looked that day."
It was a long road to recovery but the South Auckland teen maintains an optimistic outlook on life.
"I'd say that even when those bad things happen you should keep pushing through because it is going to get better," he said.
"I am hoping that by maybe the middle of this year I can go study film on the Gold Coast. That's what I have always wanted to do."
Helicopter Emergency Medical Service physician Dr Emma Batistich said they were preparing for a serious head injury and for the possibility of two patients when they went to Waiuku that day.
Batistich works in the emergency department at Auckland City Hospital, but also covers several shifts a month for the helicopter service.
Caleb had a "significant head injury", there was a contusion and he was really confused, she recalled.
It was remarkable the way he had protected his brother, she said.
"We think he's great. We think he is a hero doing that because if the car had connected with the stroller I think that would have been a really different situation."
It was so wonderful getting to meet Caleb and his family later on, she said.
"He's such an important part of that family."
It was important to remember that they were not just helping the patient but the whānau and friends around them, she said.
"It was a really cool feeling to know you had helped everyone there."
