The Western Australian bases of the Royal Flying Doctor Service began officially in 1934 and currently attend to over 46,000 people each year. Mostly these incidents are not considered newsworthy and therefore we often forget about these Australian legends.

The top three types of aerial medical evacuations the RFDS handle are :

27.1% - Trauma, eg. head injuries, snake bites, motor vehicle accidents
12.8% - Cardiac, eg. heart attacks, angina
10.5% - Pregnancy and Childbirth

Makes you think twice about holidaying after your 36^th week doesn’t it !!

Here’s a couple of inspiring stories from the RFDS to remind us of the importance of keeping these Australian legends flying.

Like most people we never thought it would happen to us … But, it did.

We have recently made one of the biggest changes in our life – uplifting the family and moving from Western Australia to Tasmania.

When packing up I came across a Polaroid photograph of a little boy covered in tubes. This was my son Ryan eleven years ago. I decided then and there that I would fulfil the promise that I had made many years earlier. I would take Ryan to say thank you to the people that had helped save his life – the Flying Doctor.

So what happened eleven years earlier. Our family, consisting of my husband, myself and our sons Shaun and Ryan, were taking an extended holiday.

We had reached Monkey Mia and had set up camp. Ryan was a little off-colour. I had convinced myself it was probably a bug or one of the other factors encountered when travelling such a distance with a youngster. My husband suggested that we take him to the Nursing Post, although I didn’t think that it was necessary – they would probably think I was over reacting.

Before too long I knew that this was more than a common bug. Ryan had turned blue and was finding it difficult to breathe.

The nurse took one look at him and was on the phone in a flash. Before I knew it, the Flying Doctor had been called to evacuate Ryan and me to Carnarvon, then on to Perth.

The Flying Doctor arrived and with Ryan loaded we were on our way. He was such a sick little boy by this time. Throughout the flight both the Nurse and Doctor took everything in their stride, comforting and explaining to me everything that was happening at the same time.

After spending five days in hospital Ryan recovered and today is a happy, healthy, boisterous fourteen year old.

Ryan’s diagnosis was Epiglotitis, which meant quite simply his epiglotis had become infected and had blocked his windpipe making it nearly impossible for him to breathe.

So after eleven years I made a telephone call to find out if Ryan would be able to contact the Doctor that saved his life.

After organising a time suitable we made the trip to Jandakot, reminiscing about the ordeal on the way. Staff had done their research and much to our amazement we were met by Dr Stephen Langford, the doctor that had helped us so much. Stephen is now Medical Director of RFDS Western Operations and was able to fill Ryan in on the medical details of the transfer. He had remembered the flight as though it had happened only yesterday. It was a special reunion that I will never forget, and allowed me to fulfil that promise I had made years earlier – not only was I able to say thank you, but Ryan was able to say thank you also. 

Not Always Mans Best Friend!

Way out the back of Burke the windmills were undergoing their routine checks.

The outback farmer was straddling the windmill platform when he slipped and fell. As he fell he became entangled in the various parts of the structure, breaking bones etc. However, the broken bones and sore ribs faded into insignificance to the amputated thumb he had sustained on the way down. 

The Flying Doc duly arrived, tended to the sore ribs, applied the necessary splints to the breaks and busily prepared the patient for transport. On learning that the farmer’s thumb had been amputated during the fall the Doc said in a quite unperturbed way, “Where’s your thumb, we’ll take it with us and see if we can sew it back on”.

“Ah, no” said the farmer in an even more unperturbed way, “The dog ate it!” 

The Flying Doc in Disguise

The little station boy had been running a temperature for a few days and didn’t seem to be picking up. His dad explained that if he didn’t pick up soon they would have to take him to the Flying Doc.

Time passed but the temperature didn’t. It was clinic day and the Doc was in town.

The little one was bundled into the car for the long drive to the clinic.

On seeing the Flying Doc the little patient started to cry and pull away. He would not, even after much coaxing, let the Doc near him.

Finally after much quizzing by his dad on why he wouldn’t let the flying doc see him, he muttered, “He hasn’t any feathers”. 

Want to help the RFDS?

If you would like to support the Royal Flying Doctor Service by offering them a donation you may contact their Jandakot base on (08) 9417 6390.

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