Rachelle Stables’ story

Rachelle Stables had just bathed her dog and had walked outside to hang up the washing when she slipped and fell on to her back. She couldn’t move at all and got one of her children to bring out the phone so she could ring the ambulance.

Suspicion of a fractured pelvis saw the ambulance crew ring for the chopper which flew Rachelle directly to Rotorua Hospital’s emergency department. The injury ended up being muscular and nerve damage which left Rachelle in hospital for a week with numbness down one side.

The 36 year old mother-of-two lives 30 minutes south of Rotorua and the local chopper is now a regular and reassuring sight to the family.

“We see them come over a lot – it’s a huge value to the community. You just don’t know when you’re going to need it.”