Lena Walsh shares story of rescue that may have saved her life as CareFlight helicopter turns 10
Ahead of an important milestone for CareFlight, which operates the NT Rescue Helicopter, a Litchfield woman has shared her story of how the chopper was able to reach her when no-one else could.
Northern Territory
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Lena Walsh, a 38-year-old clinical nurse manager from Darwin’s rural fringe, lives for her weekends when she can ride her six-year-old brumby, Gracie, yet one Sunday morning in April this year, her hobby almost killed her.
Ms Walsh, a Herbert woman who is member of both the Litchfield Horse & Pony Club and Territory Xtreme Cowboy Racing, told this masthead she was trail riding with a friend at Girraween when Gracie lost her footing on the wet, greasy earth.
“She went down and I went down with her,” Ms Walsh said.
“I went over her shoulder, kind of did a little flip over her shoulder, and I landed on my right upper back on jagged coffee rocks.”
She described the pain as “definitely over 10” – multiple ribs had fractured, over three or four sets, and they had fractured in such a way that there were bone fragments floating around her chest cavity.
“I was in such agony I tried to do a bit of meditative breathing, I was drifting in and out [of consciousness] because of the pain,” Ms Walsh said.
Her riding friend was able to hail others within the Litchfield horse riding network to come to her aid, and a plan was hatched to evacuate her via buggy (the trail was inaccessible via larger vehicles) but they soon realised the buggy was too freighted with risk.
“It was too wet, too boggy for the buggy to come get me, let alone for an ambulance to get through the bush,” Ms Walsh said.
“And if I went the cowboy way, I probably would have punctured my lungs because of my floating, fractured ribs.”
It was also unclear at that stage whether she had suffered a spinal injury (she hadn’t, luckily).
Yet there remained a single, vital service that had the means to reach her: CareFlight, which dispatched its NT Rescue Helicopter AW139 to aeromedically evacuate Ms Walsh.
“They reached me when no one else could, and their calm, professional approach made all the difference,” she said.
“The conditions were beyond challenging.
“I’ll never forget the feeling of relief when I saw that helicopter overhead.”
Ms Walsh has since returned to work after fully recovering.
As part of ongoing 10-year anniversary celebrations for its AW139, which has flown more than 1500 missions, CareFlight is hosting an exclusive open day at its operations hangar on Thursday.
This event offers a unique opportunity to get up close with the chopper and learn about its vital role in the Top End.
The open day will feature guided tours, interactive stations, and a live winch demonstration, providing a first-hand look at what it takes to carry out complex and critical missions.
Amanda Quinn, nursing director of CareFlight’s northern operations, said the open day would be a “celebration of the lives saved, the missions flown, and our ongoing commitment to delivering the best possible care in the most challenging environments”.
Attendance is limited by ballot and registrations are essential.
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