Tweni medic’s mercy mission to Mexico

Paramedic Glen Preston of Med-Evac Ambulance Services, travelled more than 19 000 kilometres over six days to bring injured Benoni motorcycle racer Savannah Woodward (18) home in time for Christmas.

The medic and his patient were due back in the country on Christmas Eve.

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Savannah was placed on life support following an accident while competing at the Italika World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico on December 1.

According to the Benoni City Times, the international racer, who wears the number 77 when she competes, spent five days in an intensive care unit in a Mexican hospital after suffering frontal lobe damage in the crash.

Due to the extremely high medical costs associated with ICU care, she was then moved to a general ward.

Her mother Eleaze and father, Paul travelled to Mexico a few days after the accident to be by her side.

The motorcycle community in South Africa rallied to raise funds for her initial recovery in Mexico, and to help fund her return to South Africa.

Mrs Woodward contacted Dr Derick de Beer, who is a member of Motorsport South Africa and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), to ask for his assistance in bringing her daughter home for Christmas.

Dr de Beer and Mr Preston are co-directors of Tweni-based Med-Evac, and Mr Preston is himself a regional representative for Motorsport SA in the province.

When the call for help came in, the pair flipped a coin to decide who would undertake the mercy flight, and Mr Preston began packing.

Behind the scenes, logistical planning went into overdrive.

“Glen met with the American ambassador to South Africa to enlist his help in obtaining an emergency visa for Mexico. The South African embassy also stepped in to get the visa expedited,” said Dr de Beer.

Last Wednesday, (December 19) Mr Preston, who has a prestigious BTech qualification, and hours of experience in patient repatriation, flew out from OR Tambo International, bound for Mexico City, with a brief a half-way stop in Amsterdam, all on very little sleep.

Almost simultaneously, Savannah left Guadalajara for Mexico City.

Italika Racing was kind enough to hire the entire bottom floor of a luxury bus for Savannah and her parents to complete the 560 kilometre journey as comfortably as possible.

Mr Preston met Savannah and her family last Friday morning and together they flew back to Johannesburg, via Paris.

Mr Preston’s role will be to closely monitor Savannah’s condition, and provide medical assistance if and when necessary.

Speaking to the Herald, Dr de Beer said Mr Preston was the best possible person to have undertaken this mission, as he is extremely qualified and thinks on his feet.

“This is what we do, it’s our game to get people back to safety.”

Mr Woodward, speaking to the Benoni City Times, said public support had been overwhelming, and a trust fund had been set up by Red Star Raceway’s Tracy Venter and Cre8work’s Ricardo Gaspar.

“As each day goes by the costs go up and there is still a long way to go. Once home there will be a recovery period with therapy and with this come more costs,” Mr Woodward added.

If you would like to assist, visit the Savannah#77 Facebook page for details. 

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