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JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
Simon Robinson believes that he is incredibly lucky to survive the impact of a falling chimney in the September 2010 earthquake.
Simon Robinson was almost the only fatality in the Canterbury earthquake in September 2010 when a chimney slammed into him, breaking bones and nearly ripping his lips off.
Instead, her miraculous survival means that she has lived to see her children marry and her grandchildren born.
Stacy Squires / Stuff
He has kept a piece of tile from the roof of his old house as a souvenir of his survival.
Robinson was struck by a falling fireplace at his Fendalton home at 4.35 am on September 4, 2010. The first brick struck him on the head, breaking his eye socket, breaking his jaw and nearly ripping his lips off. The other bricks broke his legs and nearly shattered his right foot.
He was rushed to the hospital and placed in an induced coma for four days. He was by far the most seriously injured victim.
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Ten years later, he still has ongoing pain from his injuries, but felt “incredibly lucky to be alive.”
PRINCIPAL
Robinson was interviewed on television about two months after the September 2010 earthquake.
“I came very close to being nailed by a chimney. If that first brick had hit me an inch higher, it would have killed me instantly.
“There were so many strokes of luck that it prevented me from becoming a statistic.
“I have seen all my children marry and all my grandchildren born. I would have missed all those things. “
Kirk Hargreaves / Things
Robinson’s house in Fendalton, seen here in September 2010, where he was struck by a falling chimney in the 2010 earthquake.
Since the earthquakes, Robinson’s home in Fendalton has been demolished and he has sold his rural farm, Round Hill Station.
He now lives with his wife in a lifestyle block in Ohoka, North Canterbury.
“I miss the farm, but I still have 12.5 acres, and I can still move around and raise some sheep and cattle.”
Robinson has ongoing nerve pain in his legs, plates in his shoulders and legs, and part of his right foot is missing.
Stacy Squires / Stuff
Robinson in 2013, in his Ohoka lifestyle block.
“My big toe and the toe next to it are missing on my right foot. There are only three toes and one socket in that foot. “
Dealing with injuries is an ongoing battle.
“I try not to walk with a limp. I don’t want people to ask me if I’m injured. A game of golf or a big day on the block, he might limp for a day or two. “
Frank
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Robinson does not like to think about the anniversary of that earthquake when it comes every year.
“I don’t even recognize it. I’m just trying to move on.
“I spend time with my grandchildren and play the odd game of golf.”
