Raymond Waru

Surfdale resident Raymond Waru of Ngāpuhi is thanking the community for a massive show of support after he found himself in a painful and dangerous position on Saturday night.

The author and retired broadcasting pioneer specialising in Māori, heritage and historical programming, was home alone when, at around 10.30pm, his hip twisted and dislocated.

Falling onto his desk chair, Waru realised he was unable to move without intense pain. His phone was too far away to reach, but his laptop was close and he began emailing for help.

“Being the time that it was, I realised it was unlikely anyone would check their emails. I even emailed the Radio New Zealand night programme before I decided to try my luck on Facebook.”

Waru wrote a message detailing his situation and posted it on the Waiheke Community Page. 

The response was swift. Within about 10 minutes, Waru’s neighbours Kylee Matthews and Chino Samuela Misa were outside and quickly broke in to get to Waru.

Meanwhile, an ambulance was on the way.

Waru had also been yelling for help, but Matthews and Samuela Misa hadn’t heard him.

“I was thinking I might be stuck in this position until the morning when I could start yelling again once the neighbours got up to have breakfast. I was so relieved when help arrived, and it’s amazing that people were so responsive to my post on the community page.”

• Sophie Boladeras

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