{"id":371430,"date":"2026-04-23T15:36:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T05:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=371430"},"modified":"2026-04-23T21:43:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T11:43:26","slug":"why-the-first-minutes-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/04\/23\/why-the-first-minutes-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"Why The First Minutes Matter!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mondure farmer Clive Weier, 89, lost his arm in a farming accident last year but he could have lost his life if his neighbour Graham Terry had not provided vital first aid (Photo: Josh Thies, LifeFlight)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

April 23, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

It took only seconds for Mondure farmer Clive Weier, 89, to lose his right hand in an auger but a split-second reaction from his neighbour saved his life.<\/p>\n

The incident, which happened when the augur suddenly restarted while Clive was trying to clear it, occurred in March last year.<\/p>\n

Clive was airlifted by LifeFlight to Royal Brisbane and Women\u2019s Hospital and underwent emergency surgery but unfortunately his forearm could not be saved.<\/p>\n

However, Clive is back on his feet these days, and full of praise for LifeFlight and the knowledge of his neighbour, Graham Terry, which saved his life.<\/p>\n

LifeFlight Critical Care Doctor Daniel Bundock praised the quick-thinking by Graham.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I clamped my hands around his arms, put him against the wheel, sat him down and held his arm until (his son) Leigh got the tourniquet and his phone and rang the ambulance,” Graham said.<\/p>\n

“He was obviously in a lot of shock and pain, and I moved him around, sat him down. We never, ever let go of his arm.”<\/p>\n

Graham said he had done a first aid course about 35-40 years ago.<\/p>\n

“I knew I needed to stop the bleeding and get him comfortable … I tried to calm him down and I couldn\u2019t stop his pain. I could only stop his bleeding,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I just reassured him, he\u2019s going to be okay, it\u2019ll hurt and it\u2019ll do this and that, and I got him to deep breathe and count and all sorts of stuff. It\u2019s just something that I knew, something that I did.<\/p>\n

“I think it\u2019s essential for everybody to learn trauma training skills, it\u2019s just so handy because you never know when it\u2019s going to happen.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr Bundock, who met up with Clive again recently at LifeFlight’s Toowoomba base, said every second counted in an emergency.<\/p>\n

He said he would have done exactly the same thing as Graham if he had been first on the scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Clive\u2019s son and neighbour did saved his life, indisputably,\u201d Dr Bundock said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had good knowledge of early trauma principles and knew to apply direct pressure to stop his haemorrhage.<\/p>\n

\u201cClive\u2019s neighbour put two hands around his upper limb and compressed as hard as he could.<\/p>\n

\u201cClive\u2019s a pretty lucky man. He\u2019s lucky because of where the injury was, he\u2019s lucky because of the type of injury he had but he\u2019s also lucky because the people around him had knowledge of the basic principles of trauma care.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir ability to think clearly in that minute and step up when they were needed is why Clive\u2019s back on the farm today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Bundock said the first minutes really do matter after an accident,\u00a0 which is why LifeFlight had its First Minutes Matter program.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He said country Queenslanders should invest in learning life-saving skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people work around heavy machinery and animals … and accept the dangers and risk that come with that,\u201d Dr Bundock said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith that risk, comes a responsibility to yourself and other people who live in your community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are trained to be calm in those moments, but calmness comes from a skillset that you know that you have.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople in the community can develop a skillset as well by attending courses, thinking about trauma care, and learning how to use equipment and the basic principles of it.”<\/p>\n

Clive recently celebrated his 89th birthday and has gone from being right-handed to embracing a “she\u2019ll be right” attitude using just his left hand.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI woke up and thought, \u2018well \u2013 I\u2019ve got to move on. I can\u2019t bury my head in the sand and think I can\u2019t do this and I can\u2019t do that. I\u2019ve got to think positive and I\u2019ve got to get on with my life. It\u2019s happened. It\u2019s history. There\u2019s nothing I can do about it\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Clive was so grateful that good trauma knowledge saved his life that he organised a First Minutes Matter workshop at Mondure.<\/p>\n

Dr Bundock said seeing Clive looking so well was a highlight.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cDoctors are people, too,\u201d Dr Bundock said. \u201cWe carry a bag of patients around in our heads our entire lives. You want to know that they\u2019re doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n