Birthday girl gets a treat from Richie
Eleven-year-old Stevie Dineen had no idea why she was at Christchurch Helicopters.
Then a familiar figure rounded the corner and her face lit up.
‘‘It’s Richie Mccaw,’’ said her 9-yearold brother Jack, as he clapped his hands together.
On Tuesday, Christchurch Helicopters pilot Richie Mccaw gave Stevie a belated birthday present, just days after she and her family left their Hapuku home, just north of Kaikoura.
Instead of celebrating her birthday at home on November 25, Stevie and her family were travelling to Christchurch along Inland Rd to escape the quake-hit area.
Senior Constable Penny Rusbatch had visited the family earlier in the week while helping after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on November 14.
When Stevie’s younger brother told Rusbatch that his sister was to celebrate her birthday on November 25, the police officer was touched by the way Stevie and her mum, Lisa, looked at each other.
‘‘She said ‘with everything that has gone on, we might have to do the celebrations later’. I just got the impression there was not much they could do for her on that day,’’ Rusbatch said.
Stevie told her she wanted to ride in a helicopter. Rusbatch never mentioned her intentions to the family, but decided to try her luck in arranging a helicopter ride with Mccaw.
‘‘I just felt really sorry for her because I’ve got kids. I just wanted to do something special for her because they had a terrible week.’’
Mccaw and his team at Christchurch Helicopters were only too happy to come to the party. Speaking after Stevie’s 20-minute flight from Christchurch on Tuesday, Mccaw said: ‘‘I’ve got to say it’s quite satisfying giving people a thrill like that.’’
‘‘I’ll never forget it,’’ Stevie said. – Fairfax NZ