A very grateful police officer dropped into Middlemore Hospital’s Emergency Department just before Christmas, to offer profound thanks to some people who saved his life.
Acting Sergeant Zane Wienk was struck by a fleeing driver in Counties Manukau a little over a year ago and suffered near fatal injuries.
First on the scene was Critical Care St John paramedic Tamara Tapiri Makano, who made the vital decision to do roadside intervention him to stop Zane’s lungs collapsing.
Emergency Department staff at Middlemore found Zane also had a shattered pelvis and multiple other injuries, the recovery taking many months.
Zane and Tamara shared a moment in the ambulance bay when he visited recently, and he thanked the paramedic profusely for her quick thinking and makeshift surgery, which ultimately helped save his life.
“It was pretty close, and I was just so lucky that the right people were with me all the way,” he said.
Zane also visited the Resus Room in Emergency Department, where the Middlemore team worked on him, and he took the opportunity to personally thank staff.
“Despite the ordeal and length of time I took to recover, I am back at work and I haven’t been put off frontline policing.
“Thanks, St John and Middlemore!”