A Goldfields woman has been reunited with the first responders who helped stabilise her after she was seriously injured by her horse when a grassfire was impacting her property earlier this year.
When fire impacting an area between Broomfield and Allendale was approaching Julie Powell's Goldsfields property, her first instinct was to try to save her horses by moving them to a different paddock.
"There was fire coming from the north very quickly and stock had to be moved into the top paddocks and in the process of doing that I sustained a kick to the face and have had reconstructive surgery since," Julie said.
At the time, Julie downplayed her serious injuries and decided she would attempt to drive herself to the hospital; that's when two Creswick firefighters intervened and called paramedics.
"We'd met Julie halfway up her driveway on her way to hospital thinking she had a little cut and a bloody nose but we knew she was in a lot more trouble than that," Captain Steven said.
"It's not something you suspect is going to happen at an incident like that, especially for someone to be kicked by a horse."
Julie was taken into the care of paramedics before she was transported to hospital in Melbourne with multiple facial fractures requiring instant surgery.
"I tried to drive myself to hospital thinking it was a cut. They (firefighters) stopped me from driving myself and I am very thankful for that," Julie said.
Julie also shared her thanks with the two paramedics who transported her to hospital.
The signs of Julie's facial injury have subsided and she has been able to make an effective recovery.
"I have been looking forward to being able to say thank you to everybody involved, I really owe my life to them all," Julie said.
