When a bloodied and bruised Amy Kynoch regained consciousness in the back of a speeding truck, she realised her ‘typical’ day at work had taken a disastrous turn.
The 23-year-old station hand had spent the past six years working between Palmer Valley and Lucy Creek cattle stations in the Northern Territory and making the most of life in the outback.
“I love everything about the rural life – I love the family environment and that every day is different,” Amy said.
“We all get up in the morning, have breakfast together and then we jump on our bikes and horses and go out mustering."
The day of Amy’s accident had started out as normal, mustering ‘cleanskin’ cattle ready for branding.
“Working with the animals, it keeps you on your toes. You never know if you’re going to a yard where there are going to be quiet or lively cattle,” Amy said.
“We were at the yard pushing up all the cleanskin cattle and while we were branding, one of the mickeys (young bulls) jumped up and double banked me in the face.”
The 700kg animal kicked Amy directly in the face – the base of the hoof striking her skull just over her eye and the tip of the hoof splitting open her nose.
The kick knocked her out instantly. She was more than 430km from the nearest major hospital and her face was bleeding heavily.
Fortunately, Amy was with her workmate Josh, who bundled her into the truck.
“The next bit I remember was waking up in the car, getting driven back to the homestead,” she said.
“We were still a fair way out from the house. I remember turning around to Josh and asking him if it was bad. He had turned all the car mirrors away so I couldn’t see my face.
“I grabbed the rear vision mirror and I just started crying. I was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s terrible!’”
Amy was in immense pain and there was blood everywhere. Dirt and makeshift bandages covered the side of her face.
As soon as they arrived at the homestead, Lucy Creek Station staff got on the blower to the Medical Retrieval and Consultation Centre (MRaCC) in Alice Springs.
The on-call Doctor relayed first response instructions over the phone and at the same time, tasked an RFDS aeromedical team to retrieve Amy.
“One of our staff, Anna, who is first-aid trained was so good – she cleaned me up while on the phone to the doctors,” Amy said.
“I remember being driven down to the airstrip to meet the plane and the pilot and nurses.
“I was nervous about flying, but they were so comforting. They told me, ‘Don’t worry it’ll be the quickest trip to town you’ve ever had.’”
The RFDS team stretchered, medicated and stabilised Amy for the flight to Alice Springs, where she underwent surgery and spent several nights recovering.
Her face was stitched up from the base of her nostril, up through her nose and eyebrow.
“My nose was terribly sore and I didn’t have the nerves in my forehead for a fair while ‘cause they got squashed when I got kicked,” she said.
“The worry was a bit of like, how’s my face going to look afterwards, but the recovery went really well.
“My scars have slowly healed up and I feel a lot better now. I’m back doing the same job and I still love it.”
To Amy, the RFDS is “a security blanket”.
“You could get into strife, you could have something terrible happen, but you know you’ve got someone there to back you up.”
Help keep the Flying Doctor flying for those like Amy.
