Connor Meldrum, 15, had a serious fall which left him fighting for his life in March this year.

His recovery journey has been long and tiring. 

Connor suffered multiple skull fractures and damage to his brain - and spent almost three weeks in Intensive Care in Brisbane, followed by months of intensive rehabilitation. 

Now, Connor’s mum Kim Goodrick said their family are paying tribute to the medical and retrieval team from the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter who rescued Connor and helped save his life. 

“We knew that we would like to thank them but didn’t know how, so we asked them what we could do,” Kim said.

“They said there was one piece of equipment which would have helped in Connor’s rescue, called a portable video-laryngoscope.” 

A portable video-laryngoscope is a video camera that helps to show the patient’s airway and allows for a breathing tube to be inserted without having to move the patient’s head and neck and potentially cause further injury. 

Thanks to a fundraising page set up by a family friend, and the generosity of family, friends, colleagues and complete strangers, the community quickly raised $15,000 to purchase this much needed piece of equipment. 

“As a family, we would like to thank our generous donors and will always be grateful that this amazing service is available in our area as without it, we have no doubt that Connor wouldn’t be alive today,” Kim said. 

Connor Meldrum with NSW Ambulance Medical Team Rolly Murcott, who attended the accident on the day Connor fell. Rolly is holding the donated portable video-laryngoscope. The day the family donated the equipment to the Westpac helicopter crew, was the first day the family had met Rolly.

Dr Matt Verdolini from Lismore Base Hospital Emergency Department said the device will greatly improve the care and safety when treating patients requiring advanced airway management. 

“Thank you so much to you all for generously donating the funds to purchase this piece of life-saving medical equipment,” Dr Verdolini said.