Phil Giles' first words to his stockman after he hit the dirt of his cattle yards were, 'get me an ambulance'. The Padthoway farmer, who (with his RN wife Julie) also runs a successful transport and composting business in south eastern SA, knew he was in serious trouble. Moments before, Phil had been attempting to convince a 'pretty stirred up', one tonne bull to join his two mates in the cattle yard. But the bull had other ideas. In the few seconds it took for Phil to realise he was (unwisely) standing between the 'bull and the gate', the angry beast had ploughed through both Phil and the gate and was off up the paddock.
In Episode #102 of the Flying Doctor Podcast, Phil recalls seeing his leg sitting 'at a very strange angle' as he waited for an ambulance to arrive. He required immediate RFDS retrieval to take him from his local Naracoorte Hospital to Royal Adelaide Hospital. But despite feeling a 'bit sore', it was only after a few days in hospital - and plenty more scans - that Doctors realised Phil's injuries extended far beyond his broken leg. With multiple breaks discovered in his upper body, Phil's treatment and recovery hinged on him being able to balance and walk on his broken leg, before surgeons could attempt to fix the rest of him.
While this was not the first time that Phil has taken a ride with the RFDS - after also rupturing his kidney as a young football player - he's hoping it will be his last plan trip for a while! Despite the entire Giles extended family being self-proclaimed 'aviation nuts' (one of his daughter's is even a commercial airline pilot), Phil says he's very happy to stay on the ground for now, making compost and doing some 'quieter' cattle work on the farm.
