A Lumsden firefighter’s training saved his life as he guided his family to help him after he punctured his femoral artery in his right leg.
On December 30, Thomas Hewitt went to check a water tank on the dairy farm where he works, and it’s not sure exactly how it happened, but he fell on top of a warratah, which went through is right inner thigh.
His younger sister, Hillary Anderson, who recounted the freak accident said her brother was incredible.
After falling on the warratah he managed to get himself off it, but that’s when he realised he was in serious trouble.
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He took his overalls off and created a tourniquet before ringing emergency services to get help, Anderson said.
He then phoned his wife, Monique, and said: ‘I’m dying, green water tank, now.”
Anderson, her husband Sean, and Monique raced across the farm through some rough terrain to find him, not sure exactly which water tank it was.
Hillary spotted the motorbike beside the tank and then that had to find a gate to get through to him, before finding him in a culvert.
Hewitt gave Sean instructions that the tourniquet needed to be reapplied with something better than the overalls and provided tips along the way as a new one was applied using a tent guide rope from the back of the ute and a tent peg to help tighten it.
Hillary climbed on her brother to use her body weight to help create pressure points to slow the bleeding down.
Because Hewitt had called for medical help first, it meant as the trio were working to save his life in the culvert, they started to hear sirens and firefighters and ambulance officers started arriving fast.
Farmworkers then ferried the officers up to the site to give assistance.
A helicopter was called, and he was taken straight to Dunedin Hospital where he remains in an induced coma and in the intensive care unit.
He’s already undergone 30 hours of surgery to try and save his leg.
Hewitt has been with the Lumsden Volunteer Fire Brigade for three years and had recently qualified.
“He saved his own life,” Hillary said.
“We just helped to pro-long his survival rate,” she said.
“He was just so calm, she said.
“He had pulled his hat down over his face as the sun was so hot and kept calm and tried to slow his heart rate down, to help himself. He knew how bad it was.”
“I’m just so proud of him,” Hillary said.
Since the accident, Monique and Hillary have been in Dunedin and visit him several times a day and keep his friends and family updated on his progress.
Hillary and her husband Sean have started a Give a Little Page to help the Hewitt’s family with costs associated since the accident and to help with future rehabilitation.
He would hate that they had done it (set up the page), she said, but her brother and Monique were very community-minded people.
He’s been in Young Farmers, he’s a firefighter, loves dog trialling, hunting and fishing.
“He needs some help right now.”
Hillary described Monique in the days since the accident as a “warrior” as she holds it together for her husband and children.
Hillary is thankful they were on the farm when the accident happened.
Anderson and her family, who live in Darfield, Canterbury, had come south to spend Christmas with the Hewitts and their three children.
On the day of the accident, Hillary and her family had planned to go to Invercargill for a day trip but, she was in holiday mode and “faffing about”.
It meant they were there when Hewitt phoned Monique.
WorkSafe NZ have been notified but as Hillary said: “It was a freak accident, and no ones’ fault.”
