The community of Townsville will always remember the Christmas of 2019 as a time of catastrophic floods. But the Taylor family will always recall that Christmas in Townsville for a totally different reason. Because it was also the Christmas that they very nearly lost their one-year-old baby girl, Selene, to a rare bacterial complication from tonsilitis. That 'complication' caused a large abscess to form on Selene's throat, which very quickly developed into a life-threatening situation for the normally bright and active toddler. In Episode #115 of the Flying Doctor Podcast, Selene's mum Hayley shares her family's terrifying ordeal - along with her memories of the incredible kindness of strangers. After being told that a mercy flight from their hometown of Bucasia (near McKay in Qld) to Townsville was Selene's best chance of survival, Hayley suddenly found herself sitting on an RFDS flight, with her gravely ill daughter by her side. With no shoes, no wallet and no phone charger, the next few days would be a rocky Christmas holiday story for everyone involved.
Hayley recalls that when she first noticed Selene's symptoms - including a high fever, lethargy and obvious discomfort - she did what any worried Mum would do. She took her straight to the local hospital. But with Christmas holiday chaos impacting staff availability and waiting times, Hayley and her sick baby waited many hours in their local rural hospital's Emergency Department before a Doctor promptly diagnosed Selene as having 'viral tonsilitis'. Hayley and her baby were sent home to rest and recover. But Selene didn't recover. Her symptoms increased and she developed a large lump on the side of her neck, that Hayley thought might be the beginning of mumps. Hayley called the 13 HEALTH hotline for advice and an ambulance was immediately dispatched. Selene's condition was rapidly deteriorating and she began struggling to breath. Thanks to the prompt action of both ambulance and hospital staff, baby Selene was stabilised and multiple scans and tests soon revealed the seriousness of her condition.
The decision was quickly made by local Doctors to airlift Selene to Townsville hospital - as flying her to Brisbane meant a longer flight, that Doctor's told Hayley could be the difference between her 'surviving the flight or not'. Hayley recalls the incredible care and support she received from RFDS staff that day and how much of a difference that care made to her ability to cope with such an extraordinarily stressful situation. Later, Selene would be become one of the youngest patients in Australia to undergo an emergency tonsillectomy. And thanks to the staff at Townsville Hospital and Ronald McDonald House, Hayley and Selene would also make it onto the very last flight out of Townsville, before the 2019 floods stopped all flights in and out. Today, Selene is a happy and healthy 7-year-old and Hayley has been participating in the 2024 Oceans to Outback Challenge, as her way of saying 'thank you' to the RFDS and the many 'kind strangers' who helped her family out, when they needed it the most.
