Dr Lydia Johns-Putra looked at the trapped and bleeding man. The earthquake had brought down a building on top of him. Unless she did something quickly, he was going to die.
The 56-year-old man had his legs pinned beneath a concrete pillar and a collapsed section of a floor. It was late February 2011 and the 6.3 magnitude quake had destroyed large sections of Christchurch, killing 185 people in New Zealand’s third-largest city.
‘‘There were still ongoing aftershocks,’’ the Ballarat-based urologist recalls. ‘‘Leaving him any longer would have had its own danger of more injury to him.’’
A decision was made. Dr Johns-Putra grabbed the only tools she could find – a hacksaw, a pocket knife – and began cutting off the man’s legs, just above the knees.
In 15 minutes, he was finally pulled free.
Three years later, Dr Johns-Putra has been recognised with one of New Zealand’s highest honours.
In an announcement to be made on Monday, she will receive the New Zealand Bravery Decoration for an act of exceptional bravery in a situation of danger.
Dr Johns-Putra, however, is quick to emphasise how her efforts in emergency surgery were only a small part of a collaborative team effort.
She had been attending an international medical conference in Christchurch when the earthquake struck and ended up joining a police officer, a firefighter and an anaesthetist in finding the trapped man.
The officer put tourniquets on the man’s legs while the anaesthetist knocked him out with drugs. And they all took turns sawing at the man’s legs, she says, with only a torchlight to guide them. The three others are also receiving awards.
The man they saved, Brian Coker, says he’s thrilled his rescuers are being recognised. He has returned to work as a financial adviser and recently completed the New York marathon on a hand-cycle.
‘‘I can’t thank them enough for what they did. Words are totally inadequate,’’ he says.
‘‘The reality is, they had a choice. I was extremely lucky that they were there and available and had the skills necessary to get me out.’’
For Dr Johns-Putra, it is embarrassing to admit how the ordeal has changed her, considering how other people’s lives were shattered by what happened.
‘‘I have a very strong sense now about making the most of life and the opportunities life presents us,’’ she says.