Mia’s family thanks heli crew for birthday
An Inglewood couple have used their daughter’s first birthday to thank the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter for saving her life, and told of their relief when help arrived after the child stopped breathing and turned blue.
In September 2017 Dineka and Adam Young’s daughter Mia, who was only five months old, was suffering from an undiagnosed medical condition that caused her to vomit and subsequently choke.
The couple, who also have a sixyear-old daughter, Eleecia, had taken Mia out for a walk but headed home after she threw up in her pram while at the supermarket and then again on the way home.
Dineka looked after Mia, who celebrated her first birthday yesterday, while Adam called their local GP, who wasn’t available. But while he was on the phone the situation took a serious turn.
‘‘I was, like, ‘ring an ambulance’. She had started turning blue, she was a bit limp and she was not her happy-go-lucky self,’’ Dineka said.
Mia’s condition continued to deteriorate while Adam was on the phone to the 111 operator. ‘‘She was then bringing up stomach bile and blood,’’ Dineka said.
Within minutes local firefighters were on the scene and shortly afterwards the thump, thump of the rescue helicopter could be heard outside. It had been flying over Waitara on its way back from another job when the call came in.
‘‘That was good, it’s a relief to hear that that next level of treatment was here,’’ Adam said.
The chopper landed right outside the family’s home to drop off a St John paramedic.
‘‘She came in and there was a calmness that came with her,’’ Dineka said.
‘‘It was incredibly hard as a mother to let go of my daughter and place her in someone else’s hands, but Mia couldn’t have been in better hands. The crew knew what they were doing and soon had Mia breathing again.’’
Mia had to be revived twice before they left for Taranaki Base Hospital.
Dineka said the chopper and crew provided an amazing service and the family was only too happy to tell their story during the service’s annual Friends Appeal fundraising.
Adam said the rescue chopper was vital for the region and couldn’t praise the service’s crew enough. He encouraged others to make a donation.
‘‘Without them we would only be a family of three, not four.
‘‘You don’t think it’s going to be you or anyone that you know even.’’