{"id":231638,"date":"2019-03-25T22:47:12","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T12:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=231638"},"modified":"2020-07-22T10:03:27","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T00:03:27","slug":"connor-says-thank-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/03\/25\/connor-says-thank-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Connor Says Thank You!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Connor Creagh with his family members and the RACQ LifeFlight team who helped save his life after he was crushed by a tree in a freak accident at Coolabunia (Photo: RACQ LifeFlight)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Connor with the tree that crushed him … this photo was taken just 30 minutes before the accident\u00a0 (Photo: RACQ LifeFlight)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 25, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

An RACQ LifeFlight rescue crew enjoyed an emotional reunion on Monday with a young boy they feared they would never see again.<\/p>\n

Connor Creagh was just 11 when he was crushed\u00a0by a tree in a freak accident after last October’s storms.<\/p>\n

“I said to Connor, we’ll go up to Nana and Grandad’s and we can help clean up their property after the storm,” his mum Danielle Miles said.<\/p>\n

“It was horrendous out there. Trees were down, there were water tanks over the roads, it was a big disaster.”<\/p>\n

Danielle was working in a paddock when she heard a blood-curdling scream.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“We ran over, and I could see the other two kids, so I knew something had happened to Connor.”<\/p>\n

What she found was frightening.<\/p>\n

Connor had been playing in a crater left by a fallen tree, and it had unexpectedly sprung back on top of him.<\/p>\n

“He’d been crushed by the tree trunk from the chest down,” Danielle said.<\/p>\n

It took two vehicles using chains and ropes to pull the tree off Connor, who was unconscious, but the closest major trauma hospital was more than two hours drive away.<\/p>\n

Danielle says she’ll never forget the sound of the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter flying in.<\/p>\n

“It was just a huge sigh of relief when we heard the helicopter arrive,” she said.<\/p>\n

LifeFlight’s Critical Care Doctor, Oskar Larsson, said as soon as he saw Connor’s lifeless body he knew time was of the essence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I remember opening the ambulance door and seeing this little boy in all kinds of trouble,” Dr Larsson said.<\/p>\n

“He was unconscious and struggling with breathing . . . he looked bad. We had to move really quickly to make him survive.”<\/p>\n

The crew worked tirelessly for more than half an hour before loading Connor into the chopper and flying him to the Queensland Children’s Hospital.<\/p>\n

“He’d suffered a broken femur, eight broken ribs, a squashed heart and ended up needing a full airway reconstruction,” Danielle said.<\/p>\n

“Without these guys, Connor wouldn’t be here right now, without a doubt.<\/p>\n

“There’s no way we could have got him to hospital in time.”<\/p>\n

For the Sunshine Coast RACQ LifeFlight crew – pilot, air crew officer, doctor and flight paramedic – seeing Connor again was an extremely emotional experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Seeing him today is anything but heartbreaking,” Dr Larsson said.<\/p>\n

Connor, who celebrated his 12th birthday in December, doesn’t remember much from the day.<\/p>\n

But he couldn’t wait to meet the men who helped save his life.<\/p>\n

“I just had to say thank you,” Connor said.<\/p>\n

The reunion occurred at LifeFlight’s Sunshine Coast hangar in Marcoola.<\/p>\n