Despite living more than 11,000 miles away, Sarah Laurie has been raising money for our charity through challenges and events. Having previously completed our 5km fun run, Dash in the Dark, this year Sarah has her sights set on Miles for Missions and the London Marathon – virtually, of course.
Sarah, who lives near Auckland, New Zealand, has been raising money for air ambulance and rescue helicopter charities around the globe ever since her dad, Max, was involved in a serious road traffic collision and had his life was saved by the local rescue helicopter in Maramaura back in November 2017.
Max visiting the local rescue helicopter
“Dad’s vehicle and another had collided.”
“The impact from the crash had rolled Dad’s ute (utility vehicle) on the driver’s side. His arm was out the driver’s window and trapped – the firefighters and paramedics were worried he would lose his arm. He had broken bones in his face and jaw, but the injury everyone was worried about was the traumatic head injury.”
Because of the road closures caused by the accident, the only way for Sarah to link up with her mum and get to the hospital was for the police to drive her around the crash scene.
“As soon as I saw Dad’s ute, I thought there’s no way he could survive that. It was a mangled mess,” Sarah said.
“After emergency surgery and treatment for the head injury the doctors told us, ‘If the helicopter was not available, your dad would not have survived.’ And so my fundraising journey began.”
Sarah revels in seeing the faces of people she runs past wearing her UK air ambulance merchandise – a long way from home!
Sarah’s ever-growing collection of charity medals includes our 5k fun run, Dash in the Dark
“For locals or for people from overseas, you never know when you may need a life-saving air ambulance. Life can change in an instant. If you are thinking about doing a challenge to support your local air ambulance, go for it. No matter the amount you raise, every little bit helps.”
Tēnā rawa atu koe, Sarah!
Check out our full list of events and challenges and help us be there for our next patient.
