A Service for All
By Virginia Berger
In the four years since Virginia used the Service she has made a full recovery. She lives in Canberra with her husband and volunteers with Snowy Hydro SouthCare regularly. This is her story.
I am only writing my story because of the Snowy Hydro SouthCare Helicopter Service - a service that saved my life. It happened on what seemed to be a pleasant Saturday afternoon. I was sitting in a chair at home alone, when like a bolt of lightning, I felt like someone had plunged a sharp dagger into my neck. It literally took my breath away. I stayed there for a few moments, twisting and turning in excruciating pain while the dagger rapidly worked its way down through my chest and to the bottom of my stomach. I had difficulty breathing and couldn't see well. I knew I was in deep trouble.
One of my neighbours drove me to The Canberra Hospital where a remarkably quick diagnosis was confirmed by a scan - I had suffered an aortic dissection. The first pain I had felt was the initial tear and the plunging dagger was the aorta dissecting. My aorta had virtually split from top to bottom. As you can imagine this condition is highly lethal. The risk of death for those who do survive the dissection itself rises sharply as time passes.
At the time, the only surgeon in Canberra who could perform the surgery I needed had just begun a lengthy operation on another patient. I couldn't wait. Thankfully, there was a doctor at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney who could operate on me and the Snowy Hydro SouthCare Helicopter was ready to take me there.
I had been told that my condition was life-threatening, but at no stage was I scared nor did I panic. My husband says that's because I was drugged. I had, of course, been given drugs to ease the pain, but I have total recall of the flight to Sydney and I know that my calmness was because I sensed from the outset that I was in professional, capable hands. The two paramedics who accompanied me explained every step that was being taken. One told me that he would tap me on the shoulder every ten minutes or so and I was to give him a thumbs up or thumbs down. He did this consistently and I was given frequent updates on how much time had passed and how much time there was to go in the one and a half hour flight. The helicopter was too noisy to hear much but the compassionate eyes of the paramedic and the persistent feeling of absolute professional care that surrounding me, conveyed all that needed to be said.
Snowy Hydro SouthCare is an organisation that is of service to all ages and all people, right across the spectrum of society. Best of all, the service is there to help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When we hear that distinctive noise overhead, we assume it's someone unknown being transported to care. However, there is absolutely no reason why it might not one day be your parent, your partner, your sibling, your child, or your grandchild. It could very easily be your neighbour, your workmate, your friend - or someone completely unknown to you. Think about it. You just have absolutely no idea when you might need this helicopter service and its dedicated crew. Believe me. This is probably one of the few times in my life when I really do know what I'm talking about!"
