The South Penrith couple who experienced a car crash a fortnight ago want to thank all the first responders who helped them.
Paul and Denise Borg had just reversed out of their driveway on Tania Avenue and began driving to an optometrist appointment when their car struck another vehicle parked on the road.
Their car flipped upside down and Paul and Denise were stuck inside the vehicle.
The Weekender reported on the story and featured dramatic images from the cash.
“I remember waking up with my feet in the air and I was on my head,” Paul said.
“I moved my fingers; I could see my toes and I wiggled them, and I thought nothing’s broken.
“So, I released my seatbelt and because I was on my head I rolled out, I don’t remember much after that.”
Paul shared that he kept calling out for his wife to see if she was okay.
“I remember calling out and reaching out to check on Denise, other than that I don’t know,” Paul said.
“Next thing I remember is I’m up on a stretcher and saying, ‘save my boots, don’t cut my boots’.
“I could feel that I was cold, they had cut my clothes off and I was down to my underwear and I’m saying, ‘don’t cut my boots’ and someone came up to me and said, ‘We’ve saved your boots’.”
Paul and Denise were driven in separate ambulances to Westmead Hospital for treatment but on the way, Paul had a seizure.
“I remember going down in the ambulance and a call came across the airway saying somebody is on the M4 and he is having a seizure,” Denise said.
“I vaguely remember saying to whoever ‘is that Paul? Is that Paul?’.”
Paul and Denise were treated for their injuries a laceration requiring five stitches, a fractured rib and bruising around the sternum for Paul and a fractured sternum for Denise.
Now that the couple is recovering at home, they want to extend their thanks to all those who assisted them after their crash.
“We don’t even remember the first responders, in a case like this they are faceless people,” Paul said.
“They are right up front [and] when you are a victim and you want help, you don’t have to ask for it. They’re there.
“They don’t care what colour you are, what creed you are, how rich or poor you are, they are there, and they help you.”
Additionally, to the police, ambulance, and firemen who attended the scene Paul and Denise want to thank their family, church and neighbours for their support.
“We just appreciate what everyone did for us,” Denise said.
“The firies, the ambos, the police and even the neighbours and of course our [family].”
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.