<\/p>\n
\nSandra Bristowe with her saviours Josevaia Tikomaihawai (left) and Eruera Irwin.
\nPhoto: LDR \/ Mathew Nash\n<\/p>\n
A Rotorua family is rejoicing in a “miracle” after the chance arrival of council workers saved the life of 78-year-old Sandra Bristowe.<\/p>\n
Bristowe reunited with her saviours last week, when they recounted the dramatic day.<\/p>\n
About 2.45pm on Friday, 21 November, Bristowe was weed-whacking in the front garden, readying to mow the lawns later that afternoon.<\/p>\n
But she never got her hands on the mower. After feeling dizzy, she fell to the ground and started calling for help.<\/p>\n
By chance, Rotorua Lakes Council workers Josevaia Tikomaihawai and Eruera Irwin were arriving to fix a water leak at a neighbouring property, parking outside Bristowe’s home in Phillip St.<\/p>\n
Tikomaihawai heard the calls for help, before eventually spotting a leg from behind the gate.<\/p>\n
He poked his head around the corner to find Bristowe, in clear discomfort, on the ground.<\/p>\n
Her “godsend” had arrived, in work boots and high vis.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“It’s a miracle,” Bristowe said. “If the truck was parked anywhere else [than] outside my house, they wouldn’t have heard me.”<\/p>\n
After being alerted, two contractors already on the site, but who hadn’t heard her cries because of heavy machinery noise, called an ambulance.<\/p>\n
Tikomaihawai and Irwin kept the great-grandmother comfortable and attempted to shield her from the sun as they waited for the ambulance.<\/p>\n
Bristowe said she remembered very little, but did recall someone praying.<\/p>\n
That someone was Tikomaihawai.<\/p>\n
“I just heard someone calling ‘help’ and went to look,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I just carried her and put her on her side, she was lucky not to hit her head on the concrete.”<\/p>\n
Irwin initially thought she had “just fallen”, but then she started “grabbing at her chest” and complaining of pain.<\/p>\n
“It’s great to see her now.”<\/p>\n
Once in the ambulance, Bristowe suffered a cardiac arrest and needed five shocks from a defibrillator to restart her heart.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nFrom left, Shannyn Bristowe, baby Te Manako Bristowe, Josevaia Tikomaihawai, Sandra Bristowe, Robert van den Akker, Awhi Bristowe, Noah Taft and Eruera Irwin. Photo \/ Mathew Nash A confused Sandra Bristowe told Rotorua Hospital staff she was called Unk-Ostrich and was 114 years old.
\nPhoto: LDR \/ Mathew Nash\n<\/p>\n
“I’m amazed I’m alive,” she said. “There were lots of little miracles.”<\/p>\n
The previous day, she had told her neighbour with the water leak to inform the council, effectively summoning her saviours in advance.<\/p>\n
Grand-daughter Shannyn Bristowe said that, had the two council workers not come across Sandra, she would not be here today.<\/p>\n
Instead, she lived to meet the newest member of the family, Te Manako, Shannyn’s newborn, originally due to be induced that day, who was born a few days later.<\/p>\n
“If it wasn’t for you being there first, we would’ve been planning a funeral at the same time as having a baby,” Shannyn told Tikomaihawai and Irwin.<\/p>\n
Sandra Bristowe’s daughter Awhi said that what could have been a tainted and tragic time would now always be considered a “miracle time”.<\/p>\n
“We’re incredibly grateful Mum is still here.<\/p>\n
“The care she’s received, from the ambulance to the hospital, has been outstanding.”<\/p>\n
Meeting her heroes gave Sandra Bristowe another chance to connect the dots from a hazy afternoon.<\/p>\n
Her confusion on arrival at the hospital was such that she misidentified herself as “Unk-Ostrich”, a genderless 114-year-old – much to the family’s amusement.<\/p>\n
“It’s interesting what your mind does,” Sandra said of her semi-lucid state.<\/p>\n
Rotorua Lakes Council chief executive Andrew Moraes said he was “really proud” of the two “council legends”.<\/p>\n
“Our staff do a fantastic job of doing their jobs, and while it’s not often seen or acknowledged, they also often go above and beyond.<\/p>\n
“The actions of our staff in this situation exemplify the very best of what it is to work for and be part of a community.”<\/p>\n
Water services delivery manager Jason Dunweg said all field staff were first aid-trained, and he was “relieved” to hear of Bristowe’s recovery.<\/p>\n
“They just did what we hope anyone would do in such a situation, but we’re very proud of them. They didn’t hesitate to help, and their quick actions made a difference.”<\/p>\n
Bristowe has now been fitted with an automated internal defibrillator, which should shock her heart back into a normal rhythm if she should have another cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n
She faces some major lifestyle changes, including putting the weed-eater into retirement, with power tools off limits.<\/p>\n
She still intends to look after her garden but is ready to adjust.<\/p>\n
“My whole life has changed, and that’s probably the hardest thing, having to stop and think of the things you do,” she said.<\/p>\n
“But thanks to these guys, I’m here to tell the story.”<\/p>\n
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sandra Bristowe with her saviours Josevaia Tikomaihawai (left) and Eruera Irwin. Photo: LDR \/ Mathew Nash A Rotorua…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[48,47,42,43,49,46,44,45,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-196484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-audio","tag-current-affairs","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-podcasts","tag-public-radio","tag-radio-new-zealand","tag-rnz","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}