Our day of skiing on our school camp had been canceled, and we packed early to head back to school.

The kids asked if we could go on one more walk before returning. We inquired and were recommended a short 2km walk to Waitonga Falls. The weather wasn’t cold or rainy, so we headed up the mountain road and met at the car park.

Upon reaching the park, it was slightly overcast and colder than the base of the mountain. I asked students to put on their raincoats and beanies, which they did. We made our way down the track to the waterfall at the bottom.

Once at the waterfall, we sat and rested, enjoyed the view, and waited for the last hikers to arrive. During this time, a parent – which we’ll call ‘parent A’ – walked across the little stream and asked us all to turn for a photo, which he took.

While talking to the students, I heard a terrible scream. Upon turning, I realized that this parent had slipped on a rock, and it was obvious from his scream that he was in a lot of pain.

I immediately took the ResQLink VIEW PLB out of the first aid kit (which I had on my back) and activated it. I asked another parent to stay with the kids, and I took off my shoes and socks to cross the creek to parent A.

It was clear that he was in a serious condition, and this was a medical emergency. I took off my jacket and used it to support his neck, treating it as a spinal injury since I didn’t know the extent of the damage.

One of the students held the PLB, and we communicated to check if the signal light was flashing. I placed emergency blankets over parent A and a couple of student jackets around him for support. I stayed with my arm supporting his neck, not moving him, suspecting he had broken his femur on one side and either his hip or femur on the other. Later, we found he had broken his femur and dislocated his hip on the opposite side.

After an hour and 50 minutes, two ladies – doctors off the mountain enjoying a walk while the ski fields were closed – came down the track. They were impressed with our first aid and how prepared we were for our walk.

I then sent our parents up the track, and while they were on their way, the rescue chopper arrived.