It was the 5th of November 2019, and 7-year-old Lachie was happily riding his scooter on the pavement outside his family home. Moments later, he fell to the ground, hitting his head and momentarily losing consciousness. Mother Jodie immediately rushed to his aid.
“After cleaning the scrapes on his face, we became aware that Lachie had a concussion, as he kept repeating his words, was unaware of his surroundings and did not know how he had been injured,” Jodie said.
Jodie called the RFDS doctor, and it became clear that Lachie needed to be checked over. The Royal Flying Doctor Service was there to help and flew to the station, Durham Downs in South West Queensland.
“Throughout the process, our family felt complete confidence in the care we were being provided over the telephone whilst we awaited the arrival of the aircraft.”
Lachie suffered no lasting injuries and was able to return home to the station three days later. “We were very grateful, especially because we had never had to deal with a head injury before.”
But trouble at Durham Downs didn’t stop there. Just five days later, Jodie’s husband Nathan reported having a severe headache that had lasted for two days straight.
“After constant monitoring from the Royal Flying Doctor Service at the Broken Hill base, it became evident that Nathan needed to be seen by a doctor. The Flying Doctor was once again there to save the day and flew him to Broken Hill.”
Nathan was admitted to Broken Hill hospital and the cause of his painful headache was investigated by the doctors. After a CT scan, it was found that Nathan was suffering from acute sinusitis. The illness meant Nathan was suffering from inflammation of the membranes that lined his nose and sinuses creating pressure in his head.
He was given a strong dose of antibiotics. But the health issues weren’t over for the family. During Nathan’s ordeal on Sunday, poor Lachie fell out of his treehouse and badly injured his wrist so he couldn’t move it.
After consulting with the on-call doctor, Jodie decided to drive Lachie to be assessed at Broken Hill and visit her husband at the same time. Once at the hospital, it was discovered that Lachie had fractured his wrist in the fall.
Both Lachie and Nathan are in recovery and are grateful the Flying Doctor was there to help when they needed them. “We want to say a huge thank you to the Royal Flying Doctor Service at Broken Hill. The care we received for my son and husband was exceptional right from the first phone calls right through to our arrival in Broken Hill over those five days,” Jodie said.
Access to the Royal Flying Doctor Service means Jodie and her family can live in a remote area and still get the treatment they need. “We really do appreciate the service, we are able to access both our primary health care and emergency care. Well done to the entire team at Broken Hill, we are very grateful.”
