Mum praises son who ‘saved me’
As Angelique Protheroe sat bloodied, trapped, with bones snapped in two, her 8-year-old son Jordan urged her to stay calm.
The pair had just crashed; their car had hit a puddle on PendarvesRakaia Rd in Mid-Canterbury during a torrential downpour and they had hit a pole.
Their vehicle was barely recognisable and Protheroe was badly injured, but Jordan miraculously escaped with just a seatbelt burn on his neck.
It was May 31 and the pair had been returning from Christchurch, where Jordan had been in hospital with suspected appendicitis. Little did they know as they drove home, they would soon be heading back there by rescue helicopter.
After six weeks in hospital, Protheroe is finally home with her boys – husband Stefan, Jordan and her 6-year-old son Bailey – but she faces a long recovery. She is relying on a wheelchair while her bones recover, but she’s grateful she’s still here.
Protheroe said Jordan was her hero; she didn’t know it then, but emergency services have since told her they thought it was touch and go whether she’d make it.
‘‘Jordan just talked to me the whole time. He saved me,’’ she said.
She remembers bits and pieces of that day, while Jordan remembers it all. He remembers closing his eyes when they crashed, then telling his mum to stay calm, that help was on its way and they’d be in hospital soon.
‘‘I was only going about 80kmh; I wasn’t going fast at all,’’ Protheroe said.
‘‘It was really heavy rain, and I couldn’t really see where I was going, so I slowed down again but we hit a big puddle of water and it just threw us off the road. I was trying to get the car back on the road but it was wet and I saw the power pole coming and I took the full brunt of it.’’ It happened very quickly. ‘‘At the last minute I looked at Jordan and said I’m really sorry, and it was probably a good thing I did that, because I had my head turned so it hit the side of my head instead of my face.’’
Both her legs were broken in half, her jaw was broken in two places, and her ankle was smashed.
‘‘I remember looking up and blood was just pouring from my mouth and I was really dazed and couldn’t really see, and I just asked Jordan if he was OK and he said he was all right. I asked him if he could get out of the car.’’
Jordan could, but his mother couldn’t.
‘‘He was talking to me the whole time and telling me that he didn’t want me to die, and he said he was going to get help.’’
Jordan ran down the road in the driving rain and flagged down a passing car to raise the alarm, before returning to his mum.
‘‘I just remember people tapping me and telling me to stay awake, and then I blacked out again and the next thing I remember was the firemen saying they had to cut the door and the roof off.’’
The next time she woke there was a blue tarpaulin covering the car, keeping the rain off her as firefighters worked to free her, and the Westpac rescue helicopter arrived.
In her six weeks in hospital, Protheroe had three long surgeries to fix her broken bones, before returning to a home her husband had transformed to ensure it was wheelchair-friendly. She’s now trying to get life back as normal as possible.
She’s grateful she’s still alive, and thankful to many people, including the staff at Christchurch and Ashburton hospitals, the emergency crews and those who stopped to help.
Her friend Nicolle Rosewarne started a Givealittle page for her, and she was grateful for the support she had received from Wakanui School’s children and parents, the young Wakanui netball team she coached, the Celtic Rugby Club her kids played for, her husband’s employers Jansen and Braas Contracting, and Dayboo Clydesdale Stud who Protheroe showed horses for.
‘‘And Catherine for looking after my horses, and taking me to appointments in Christchurch, she’s been a really supportive friend,’’ Protheroe said.
It’s now a case of small steps – literally – but she has goals, including showing clydesdales at the Christchurch A&P Show in November.