Come hell and high water… New Zealand Police staff engaged in a race against time to save a critically ill Kiwi as Fiji was lashed by its second cyclone in a week.
Matt Wainwright collapsed on the last night of his Fijian holiday and was in hospital in Lautoka, too sick to be moved and requiring blood transfusions – but the hospital ran out of his type of blood.
From top: Paul
Hampton, Chris
Best and Dave Huff.
In the thick of the storm, a team involving Police Liaison Officer Detective Inspector Paul Hampton, Senior Sergeant Chris Best from Police’s Dog Training Centre, Chief Customs Officer Dave Huff and local staff worked to find a new supply.
They have been credited with saving Matt’s life.
Chris and Dave were in Fiji in April, conducting training with Fiji Police and Customs dog section as part of New Zealand’s involvement in the Pacific Detector Dog Programme, when Cyclone Keni struck, days after Cyclone Josie.
Matt was there with wife Jillisa and friends celebrating his 30th birthday. After collapsing on Friday night he was taken to Nadi hospital, then to Lautoka, where it was realised he was bleeding internally and needed a transfusion.
Jillisa, like Matt, has the rarest O-negative blood type and donated, but when a new transfusion became necessary over the weekend the hospital had no more supplies - and none could be flown in.
With Matt’s condition deteriorating, his father John Wainwright made contact with Paul in Suva. Paul – unable to travel because of the cyclone – started coordinating efforts from the New Zealand High Commission.
He contacted and briefed Chris and Dave, who had arrived the previous day.
Their hotel in Nadi was in lockdown and management refused to let them leave. However, the arrival of four local police and dog handlers – who Chris and Dave had asked to help – in 4WD vehicles, complete with lights and sirens, changed their minds.
Together the Kiwi and Fijian team made the 30km journey along severely flooded roads to Lautoka, where they took blood tests to see if they were suitable donors. None was compatible.
With the keyholder unable to get to work, the Fijian officers broke into the records office and found details of two donors in outlying villages. They then drove out, crossing swollen streams, to pick them up.
Meanwhile, Chris and Dave were providing food and other help for Jillisa - who had been at the hospital without support for days - and reporting back to Paul in Suva.
With the cyclone about to be upgraded from category 3 to 4, eventually they had to get back to Nadi.
“For about a third of the way we couldn’t see the road – it was just water,” says Chris, who was on his first visit to Fiji and experiencing his first cyclone.
“Villagers were pointing out markers to show the way we should go. I wouldn’t say it was scary, but it was a challenge.”
Matt and Jillisa before
disaster struck.
Matt received a transfusion and was evacuated by air ambulance the following day. Dave and Chris arranged accommodation for Jillisa, who had to remain another night before flying home.
Back in New Zealand, Matt underwent surgery for a previously undetected congenital disorder and has made a full recovery.
“If those guys hadn’t done what they did for me and Jillisa it could have been a very different story,” says Matt. “What they did can’t be overstated."
John Wainwright, a Police Arms Officer based at Timaru, initially contacted Paul through his boss, Mid-Canterbury Rural Area Commander Inspector Dave Gaskin.
“I don’t know if Paul even knew I worked for Police,” says John. “I think to him I was just a Kiwi in need of help.
“We’re firmly of the opinion that if it hadn’t been for Paul Hampton and the other staff in Fiji, Matt would have died. Their actions were heroic.”
Paul says the team faced very real risks as they braved the storm and floods.
“If we hadn’t had staff on the ground the young man would quite possibly have died,” he says. “It shows the value of having someone in-country. We’re not just here for policing purposes, we can help in other ways as well.”
Chris says the local staff did the really hard work. “Without them we wouldn’t have been able to do much,” he says.
“We certainly weren’t heroic but it was something where you can look back and be proud of your day’s work.”
Paul and Chris were awarded National Manager Certificates in recognition of their actions, with an equivalent award from NZ Customs to Dave.