- In 2024, Sarah was massaging her regular client, Harold, when a big storm began.
- Minutes later, a eucalyptus tree crashed through the roof of Sarah’s rental, knocking her and Harold to the ground.
- They were both lucky to survive, but Sarah faced a long journey of recovery from the PTSD and fractured ribs she’d sustained.
- Sarah Teague, 56, from Sawyers Valley, WA shares her story below.
Opening the door, I greeted my favourite client warmly.
“I can’t remember the last time I had a massage on a Tuesday,” Harold, 79, boomed.
“Well, Tao and I are off on our summer holidays tomorrow,” I smiled.
It was January 2024, and the following day my son, Tao, 16, and I were visiting friends in Mandurah, so I was fitting my usual massage clients in early.
Read more: I shielded my baby from a hail storm
Having massaged Harold every Wednesday for the past 12 years, he was used to his routine but happy to rearrange.
I guided him to my massage table in the living room of my rental, and Harold lay down for his two-hour treatment.
As soon as I began massaging his neck, I could tell he’d dozed off.
An hour and a half later, after turning Harold over to work on his legs, I glanced out the window to see dark storm clouds brewing.
Within minutes, rain was pelting off the roof so loudly it sounded like stones crashing down.
Then, I heard a creaking noise from outside.
“Blimey, what’s that racket?” Harold murmured, half asleep.
“It’s probably just that big tree outside,” I reassured him.
Towering over my home was a eucalyptus tree so majestic I had set it as my phone screensaver.
I hope the tree will be okay in the storm, I thought, but with just five minutes left in the massage I decided to continue.
Suddenly, my salt lamp flickered, then the room went black.
Hearing a crash, I was slammed to the ground before I knew what was happening.
Rain poured into the room, and looking around, my heart caught in my throat.
The tree had crashed through my roof!
“Harold!” I screamed. “Where are you?”
“I’m alive,” he yelled. “I went from heaven to hell!”
Scrambling to the massage table, I found Harold lying under the beams of the roof, which were centimetres away from crushing him.
I managed to drag him as he pushed himself off the table. Then I helped him into my bedroom, the only room still intact.
Looking at him properly, I realised a huge rectangle of bloody flesh was hanging from his forehead.
Panicking, I pushed it back up and held my hand to his head.
“We need to get out of here before this whole place collapses,” I choked.
Running back into the living room, I found Harold’s keys, phone and wallet, but mine were lost under all the debris.
“What’s the emergency services number?” I cried. “You need the hospital.”
“I don’t bleedin’ know,” he yelled. In the commotion, it had completely slipped our minds.
“We can’t panic, we’re alive, Harold, we’re alive,” I yelled. “I’ll drive us out of here.”
Getting in his car, I raced us to the ED.
By now, the clouds had cleared and the sun had come out, revealing the devastation the storm had left.
Neighbours were already out clearing all the fallen trees off the roads.
My neck and ribs were sore, but mostly I was worried about Harold.
“I need to get this man to hospital,” I yelled out the window.
Seeing Harold’s condition, my neighbours cleared a path for us.
At the hospital, Harold was seen at once and kept in for surgery on his forehead.
My X-rays didn’t show anything, so I was discharged that night.
My partner, Dave, picked me up from the hospital and we went to his place as mine wasn’t safe.
Thankfully, Tao was at his dad’s during the storm and could stay there until we found somewhere to live.
Harold was left with nerve damage on his forehead, but doctors told him if the beams had been one inch closer he would’ve been blinded.
When I picked him up from hospital a week later, only one thing was on his mind.
“I want to see that tree, Sarah,” he announced.
“Let’s go,” I agreed.
Arriving at the house, I was struck by how close we’d come to dying.
Fifteen times taller than either of us, the tree had caused the whole roof to collapse.
The only thing that saved us was the chimney, which caught the tree on the way down.
The roof and walls had crumbled upon impact, but miraculously nothing fell around the massage table and stool.
“We are so lucky,” Harold whispered.
Thankfully, Harold was back on his feet and working as a gardener the following week.
However, I struggled with pain and found myself jumping at loud noises.
During a routine eye test, nearby construction sounds caused me to become so overwhelmed I nearly fainted.
Realising I had PTSD, I took time off work, but the pain in my body persisted.
Chatting to Harold, I told him how I was feeling.
“Well, you were crushed by a roof,” he said.
“What?” I cried.
I couldn’t remember that.
“I saw the roof fall on you and knock you off the massage chair,” Harold said.
No wonder I felt so sore!
My doctor referred me for a CAT scan, which revealed three fractured ribs, explaining the pain.
They’re finally starting to feel better, although my neck still hurts.
My friend, Gwen, set up a GoFundMe to help me get back on my feet.
Friends, family and strangers from across the world donated $24,000, allowing me to buy a caravan for Tao and me.
I’ve always dreamed of being free from the constraints of renting.
Weirdly, the near-death experience helped give me the lifestyle I wanted.
Although what happened was traumatic, I saw the very best of humanity in the aftermath – and the tree that nearly killed us is still my phone’s screensaver.
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