Crash survivors meet eunsung heroes'
25 August 2014The two young children who survived a fatal crash which killed their mother at Te Puna in May have met the gunsung heroesh who played a vital part in saving their lives. Five-year-old Phoenix Ruddell and his sister Faith, 3, visited Tauranga Fire Station yesterday where they met with firefighters who attended the accident, and enjoyed the novelty of climbing into a fire truck. Phoenix Ruddell, 5, tests out the hose with Tauranga senior firefighter Robert Pinkerton. Photos: Zoe Hunter. The pair suffered serious injuries in the crash on May 3 after the car, driven by their 26-year-old mother Tracey O'Brien, crossed the centreline colliding head-on with a people-mover on State Highway 2. Tracey died at the scene, while Phoenix and Faith were pulled from the wreckage and later flown to Auckland's Starship Hospital. Sunday's visit was organised by their father Matt Ruddell, who wanted his children to understand how important firefighters' work is. He also hoped seeing Phoenix and Faith, and the remarkable recovery they've made, would emphasise to the firefighters how heroic their work is. gIt was an opportunity for the kids to have a good time and for the firemen to actually see what good they do. gThey're kind of like the unsung heroes.h Greerton Fire Brigade station officer Richard Moreland was the officer in charge of an appliance called to the May crash and attended yesterday's visit. He says the visit from Matt and the children was a rare opportunity to see the result of their work. gSeeing the children as good as they are would probably be a first for me in about 27 years of working with the fire service. gProbably 95 per cent of the time, unless we read something in the newspapers, we're not aware of the result of extrications or how the person's doing. gFor us it was really nice to see the way that the kids have recovered from their injuries.h As a father, Richard says his heart goes out to Matt for handling the ordeal so well and says it was a nice gesture for him to want to introduce the firefighters to his children. Matt says his children are gdoing amazingh almost four months on. The incident left Phoenix with a broken pelvis, two broken femurs, fractured ribs and a broken arm, leaving him in an almost full-body cast. gFee was obviously the one with the most injuries. He super exceeded the recovery time. gHe only spent five and a half weeks in a cast and was walking six weeks ahead of what the physio said. He's made a fantastic recovery.h Faith suffered a broken leg and a serious head injury in the incident. gWith Faith the head injury was more serious. So she's ongoing issues with fatigue. But that's becoming a little bit more manageable,h says Matt. gObviously with a brain injury the recovery is slow. But all the doctors and socialists have shown no signs of concerns.h Both children went back to kindergarten about five weeks ago and Phoenix will start school at Tauriko School next Monday. gPhoenix butt-shuffled in [to kindergarten] and walked out the first day. Having him around kids his own age has done him the world of good. gBoth kids have bounced back. It's phenomenal what they've been through and how they've taken it.h Matt refers to the incident as a glife-changing experienceh. gObviously everyone needs their mum. They understand what's happened, they know where she is. We told them she passed away and she's now in Heaven.h Matt wishes to thank his family and Tracey's, as well as his partner, and the community for their support. gA lot of people have contacted me on Facebook with words of condolences. It's very uplifting and very humbling as well as incredibly overwhelming.h A Givealittle page set up to help the family has raised more than $11,000 to date. - See more at: http://sunlive.co.nz/news/80800-crash-survivors-meet-unsung-heroes.html#sthash.1Hrabvr2.dpuf