Boyup Brook farmer Ben Creek speaks on horror motorbike accident

Ben Creek has his mobile phone to thank after a motorbike accident put him in hospital when a “routine farm job” turned near-disastrous just days before Christmas. The well-known Boyup Brook farmer was checking a paddock for sheep just before noon on December 23 when the front tyre of his two-wheel trail motorbike hit a large rock and sent him flying. He landed on a different rock about 1m away from the bike and suffered internal injuries, including a lacerated kidney and a handful of broken ribs, as well as scratches and grazes to his face. “I was scanning the paddock for sheep and wasn’t going that fast, but because the grass is long at the moment I hit a rock and didn’t even see it. All I remember is hitting the ground, it happened so quickly,” he said. While his memory of what happened during the accident is hazy, Mr Creek said he felt grateful to have had his mobile phone with him and to have the “incredible” help of several different medical professionals in the hours and days that followed. Lying on the hot ground, Mr Creek quickly came to and phoned his wife, Esther, who picked him up and drove him to a more easily accessible spot on the farm while they waited for the local St John Ambulance to arrive. “It scared her because I could hardly breathe . . . I had blood on my face but she knew my ribs were broken,” he said. “She was so solid and calm, she took over and walked me into the ute. “The Boyup Brook ambulance crew turned up and they were just amazing. A lot of them have known me since I was a child.” Local paramedics transported Mr Creek to the Boyup Brook airstrip and he was flown by the RAC Rescue Helicopter to Royal Perth Hospital within hours. “The paramedic looking after me in the helicopter was just amazing. I threw up three times in the helicopter because of the pain and he was just so helpful and kind,” he said. “And nurses at Royal Perth Hospital have been so good. They’re incredible. “I am so grateful to the paramedics, the helicopter guys, and the nurses and doctors. We are so lucky.” Like many farmers, Mr Creek has been flat out harvesting his part of WA’s record grain crop, which is this year tipped to reach a record 22 million tonnes, with about another two weeks to go. His father and farm staff will finish the harvest, with Mr Creek put on strict bed rest for the time being. “It’s not that I was going fast on the bike, but I was going fast in my head,” he said. “I had so many things to think about between harvest and sheep work. “This is a wake-up call to me to focus on one thing at a time. I am just so grateful I don’t have a serious head injury.” Speaking from the trauma unit at Royal Perth Hospital, Mr Creek said he hoped to go home on Monday after another CT scan to check if his kidney wound had grown or was healing. He spent Christmas Day in his hospital bed with visits from Esther, their three-year-old son Theo, his brother Simon Creek and his children Tom and Kate brightening up his day. “This might be one Christmas Day I don’t want to remember,” Mr Creek said. “But Simon did sneak in some ham for me, which I was pretty happy about.” “To know so many people are praying for me has been a massive uplift,” he said. “It is very humbling when I have had so many phone calls and texts from community members. I love Boyup and the people there. “There has been a lot of stirring, people saying ‘you need to go to on trainer wheels’, but a lot of offers to help, too.” Mr Creek plans to sell the bike and use a side-by-side for farm work, before buying a dedicated farm bike equipped with a two-way radio. “If I didn’t have my phone or phone reception, I would have been in serious trouble,” he said.