{"id":5092,"date":"2024-09-09T19:29:48","date_gmt":"2024-09-09T19:29:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oceansignal.com\/?post_type=survivor-stories&p=5092"},"modified":"2024-09-09T19:29:49","modified_gmt":"2024-09-09T19:29:49","slug":"search-and-rescue-helicopter-saves-wellington-hunter-after-severe-leg-injury","status":"publish","type":"survivor-stories","link":"https:\/\/oceansignal.com\/us\/survivor-stories\/search-and-rescue-helicopter-saves-wellington-hunter-after-severe-leg-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Search and Rescue Helicopter Saves Wellington Hunter After Severe Leg Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve spent over 30 years hunting in Fiordland National Park<\/a>. It\u2019s a place I know like the back of my hand, and I\u2019ve always prided myself on being prepared for anything. I\u2019ve been involved in Land Search and Rescue for six years and even ran a guiding company in the area. So, if you\u2019d asked me if I thought I\u2019d ever need rescuing from those familiar surroundings, I\u2019d have probably said no. But a month ago, during the roar season, I learned the hard way that even an experience hunter like myself can still need saving.<\/p>\n

It was a typical hunting day with a mate of mine, and we were near Westies Hut. I wasn\u2019t doing anything out of the ordinary when it happened. I was simply walking along a track when my right foot rolled forward on a log, slipped into a dip in the ground, and got jammed. The momentum caused me to lose balance, and before I knew it, my leg snapped.<\/p>\n

Two bones gone in an instant.<\/p>\n

At first, I thought I\u2019d just rolled my ankle. I even sat down on the log, thinking I\u2019d shake it off. But when I looked at my leg and saw it flopping around like it had no structure, I knew it was bad.<\/p>\n

It all happened so fast. The pain hit hard, but so did the realization that I wasn\u2019t walking out of there on my own.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, my years of SAR training kicked in, and I was prepared. Both my mate and I had rescueMe PLB1’s<\/a> (Personal Locator Beacons) and marine radios with us. We didn\u2019t waste time\u2014activated both of our beacons while my mate headed to the coast to reach the marine radio service in Bluff. Plus, I had also activated the SOS function on my iPhone 15.<\/p>\n

Before long, we got word that a Westpac Search and Rescue helicopter was on its way.<\/p>\n

Within an hour, I was on my way to Invercargill Hospital. Later, I underwent surgery in Queenstown, where they put 14 screws, a metal plate, and a rod in my leg. It looks a bit like a kebab skewer now, but I\u2019m grateful it wasn\u2019t worse.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a surreal feeling\u2014being someone who\u2019s guided so many people through the bush, and now I was the one needing help. It was a freak accident, just a tiny slip, but it reminded me that anything can happen out there, no matter how experienced you are.<\/p>\n

The stats back it up too\u2014between 2019 and 2023, ACC accepted over 8,000 hunting-related injury claims, with nearly 700 of those happening in Otago. And it\u2019s not just big injuries like mine. Most are soft tissue injuries\u2014sprains and strains. But they all add up, with the total cost of recovery hitting $23 million over the last five years.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been lucky with my recovery. ACC accepted my claim within 24 hours, covering everything from surgery to transport and even a flight back home to Wellington. They\u2019ve been fantastic, and honestly, it\u2019s a service that\u2019s pretty amazing. In other parts of the world, you\u2019d have to rely on private insurance, and if that takes weeks, you\u2019re stuck.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one thing I\u2019d emphasize to anyone heading into the outdoors, it\u2019s to always have the right gear. A PLB is tiny\u2014about the size of a matchbox\u2014but it could save your life. Always tell someone where you\u2019re going, and if you can, carry a radio. The faster you can get rescued, the better. The longer you\u2019re out there, the worse it gets.<\/p>\n

You think it\u2019ll never happen to you until it does.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At first, I thought I\u2019d just rolled my ankle. I even sat down on the log, thinking I\u2019d shake it off. But when I looked at my leg and saw it flopping around like it had no structure, I knew it was bad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":766,"featured_media":5091,"template":"","survivor-stories-category":[15],"survivor-stories-cause":[42],"survivor-stories-event":[76],"survivor-stories-rescue":[47],"survivor-stories-terrain":[23],"class_list":["post-5092","survivor-stories","type-survivor-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","survivor-stories-category-hunting","survivor-stories-cause-medical-emergency","survivor-stories-event-challenging-terrain","survivor-stories-rescue-local-search-and-rescue","survivor-stories-terrain-mountain"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSearch and Rescue Helicopter Saves Wellington Hunter After Severe Leg Injury - Ocean Signal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Experienced hunter Andy Pedley was saved by a helicopter rescue after a freak leg injury in Fiordland, thanks to his quick thinking and a PLB.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oceansignal.com\/us\/survivor-stories\/search-and-rescue-helicopter-saves-wellington-hunter-after-severe-leg-injury\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Search and Rescue Helicopter Saves Wellington Hunter After Severe Leg Injury\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Experienced hunter Andy Pedley was saved by a helicopter rescue after a freak leg injury in Fiordland, thanks to his quick thinking and a PLB.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/oceansignal.com\/us\/survivor-stories\/search-and-rescue-helicopter-saves-wellington-hunter-after-severe-leg-injury\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ocean Signal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-09T19:29:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/oceansignal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/ss-attachments\/20240330_163117-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceansignal.com\/us\/survivor-stories\/search-and-rescue-helicopter-saves-wellington-hunter-after-severe-leg-injury\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oceansignal.com\/us\/survivor-stories\/search-and-rescue-helicopter-saves-wellington-hunter-after-severe-leg-injury\/\",\"name\":\"Search and Rescue Helicopter Saves Wellington Hunter After Severe Leg Injury - 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