Double delight for rescue pilot’s nervous mission
A decorated rescue helicopter pilot with more than 1800 missions under his belt says driving his pregnant fiance´ e 160km to hospital at speed under a police escort has been his most nerve-racking yet.
Twizel-based couple Andrew Gutsell and Scarlett Henocq had been staying at Timaru Hospital last week as a precaution given Henocq was 34 weeks’ pregnant with twin girls and there had been heavy snow and road closures in the area.
However, they decided to head home on Wednesday, making the two-hour drive from Timaru to Twizel after the all-clear from doctors.
‘‘I had a final checkup and the doctor confirmed there were no signs of active labour, and the weather looked good, so we decided to go home to pack better bags because we knew we would be in the hospital for a few weeks,’’ Henocq said.
However, the trip home was shortlived.
‘‘We got home about 11am and I had a nap . . . I woke up about 4pm, and as I turned over twin B’s water broke,’’ she said.
‘‘We called the midwife, and she said ‘no problem just head down to the ward’. We said we were in Twizel, and then she went quiet.
‘‘There was a three-second pause, and it felt like she was saying ‘oh f***’ in her head,’’ Gutsell said.
They ‘‘very quickly’’ packed a bag and got in the car.
‘‘There are no midwives in the Mackenzie area, people have to go to Timaru,’’ Gutsell said.
Their midwife drove from Timaru to meet them on the road in case anything happened.
‘‘Our midwife said to come as fast, but as safe, as we could,’’ he said.
With the closest helicopter a 40-minute drive away at Aoraki/Mount Cook, the couple decided to drive in the direction of the hospital, she said.
Gutsell, a volunteer firefighter, called his chief to see if they could provide an escort, but when they did not answer they contacted 111.
‘‘111 redirected us to a cop that was attending a minor crash, and he met us and escorted us all the way to the hospital.’’
That cop was Senior Constable Russell Halkett, of Fairlie, who said it was the quickest trip he had ever done from Tekapo to Timaru.
‘‘I am thankful we didn’t have to pull over on the side of the road for her to give birth.
‘‘I quickly spoke to the father before we left, and I could see it in his eyes, he was very worried and stressed.’’
It was the first time Halkett had been called on to provide an escort for a mother in labour.
‘‘He definitely gets a few kudos,’’ Gutsell said.
He said it was a very intense situation driving fast, driving safe, and racing against time.
‘‘I am a rescue helicopter pilot and have rescued people all over the world and have done over 1800 career rescues and that was the most nervous and scared I have ever been.
‘‘It is very different when it is your loved one.’’
Gutsell was awarded a Royal Humane Society of New Zealand silver medal for bravery in 2018 for his actions during a rescue in Nepal in 2017.
By the time the couple got to Timaru Hospital at 6pm staff were ready to go, with the operating theatre prepped and team waiting.
‘‘When we arrived it was all go, and all the staff were at the door waiting for us. They had a wheelchair for Scarlett, and they had someone who sorted out our car.’’
Gutsell said by that stage twin B’s foot was already poking out, so there was no time to spare. Just 22 minutes later, the couple had welcomed two healthy baby girls.
‘‘I couldn’t believe how quick it was. I sat down and one of the staff got me a coffee and had one sip and someone asked if I would like to come meet my girls.
‘‘The staff at Timaru Hospital were amazing, we have been really well looked after, they are superheroes.’’
Having had time to take it all on board, the couple are so relieved they made it to hospital in time because after the twins were born they discovered twin B’s situation had been slightly ‘‘more severe’’ than they initially realised. ‘‘It didn’t come up in any of the scans, but twin B had a velamentous placenta,’’ Henocq said.
This could have been dangerous to both mother and baby had they been forced to deliver on the side of the road, she said.
They have spent the past week under the care of Timaru Hospital, with their twins Rose and Charlie born slightly premature – their 18-month-old son Alexander excited to be a big brother.
‘‘I am a rescue helicopter pilot and have rescued people all over the world and have done over 1800 career rescues and that was the most nervous and scared I have ever been. It is very different when it is your loved one.’’ Andrew Gutsell