Karratha mum Tui Magner was excited to welcome her first son after having three beautiful daughters. But once her newborn was in her arms, Tui quickly realised little Westynn was not well.
He didn’t cry, he didn’t move and he looked pale and very sluggish.
Tui
Following his neo-natal check, midwives at Karratha Health Campus told Tui that the next morning Westynn would need to be flown more than 1,500 km by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to Perth’s King Edward Memorial Hospital NICU, accompanied by a doctor and nurse from the Newborn Emergency Transport Service team.
Before he could be transferred, Westynn required a blood transfusion. He had lost a third of his blood while in utero, causing acute anaemia. Doctors are unsure whether the blood loss happened gradually during Tui’s pregnancy or in the birth process.
The blood transfusion rapidly improved Westynn’s condition. With his mum and dad Manunui by his side, he spent a week growing stronger in the NICU ward and was able to return to Karratha on a six-week course of iron and folic acid, to help his tiny body produce more red blood cells.
Tui, Manunui and their three daughters travel across WA competing in rodeo events with their horses and now Westynn has joined them on the road. Tui is so grateful for the part RFDS played in transporting her son to the care he needed, she is using rodeos to fundraise, with competitors “fined” $50 every time their hat flies off during their ride.
“Everyone in Karratha either knows someone who has needed the RFDS, or has needed the RFDS themselves, but you always hope it won’t be your own family,” said Tui.
