Born and raised in outback Queensland, Jess Mackenzie knows the strength and vulnerability of life on the land, and despite it all, she wouldn’t live anywhere else.
Born and raised in outback Queensland, Jess Mackenzie knows the strength and vulnerability of life on the land, and despite it all, she wouldn’t live anywhere else.
Jess had returned to her family’s station to help tackle the clean-up flowing ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred and pitched in to prepare the yards for the arrival of new cattle.
While moving the cattle into the pens to be tagged, something Jess had done countless times before, the unexpected happened.
“I saw her coming,” Jess said.
“I stepped up onto the rail because I thought she was just bluffing, but she wasn’t.”
Within seconds one of the cows charged towards Jess and pinned her against the rails.
Jess yelled for help before being knocked to the ground, lying in the dust as she felt the 800kg cow jump on her.
“I thought maybe I had just broken my arm, but then it started to get harder and harder to breathe,” she said.
“I could hear the panic in everyone’s voice, and thought I just needed to concentrate on breathing.
“My husband, Colin, was looking after our 10-month-old son, Hayes, making sure he was settled.
“I knew if I heard him cry, I wouldn’t be able to breathe.”
Jess’ dad immediately called the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section) and a Priority One ‘life-threatening’ aeromedical retrieval was tasked from the Charleville Base.
While the aircraft was on its way, an ambulance was dispatched and a nurse from the local clinic raced to the scene.
Jess’ sister, Bronte, never left her side. With Jess’ shoulder blade shattered, Bronte lifted and supported her arm to ease the pain.
“Jess has always been tough, but I knew she was in a lot of pain when she went white and quiet,” Bronte said.
“We were all thinking the same thing, we just need her to make it to the plane and she will be okay.”
RFDS Senior Base Pilot Terry Latchman, RFDS Senior Aeromedical Officer Tony Dorr and RFDS Flight Nurse Izzy Graham checked in regularly by phone as the family relayed that Jess wasn’t doing well at all.
“We got to the airstrip just as the plane landed,” Bronte said.
“It was such a relief. They jumped straight out of the plane and got stuck into it.”
On the ground the aeromedical crew responded fast, administering pain relief and assessing Jess before bringing her on board. The team had everything they needed if she were to deteriorate quickly, including intubation equipment, a defibrillator and a ventilator.
“We needed to be ready to make heavy and intense interventions to help her breathe, including the possibility of intubating her,” Izzy said.
“By the time we landed, we had a plan A, B and C for treating Jess. We had our meds drawn up. We were ready.”
Jess was flown to Toowoomba where she was put in an induced coma before being transferred to Brisbane for specialist treatment.
“As soon as the wheels lifted off, I just thought, ‘I’m going to be okay now. I will live,’” she said.
Jess survived, but not without serious injuries, including multiple broken ribs, a fractured vertebrae, a shattered shoulder blade, a fractured orbital cheekbone, a punctured lung, and extensive internal bruising.
But she knows how different the outcome could have been without the RFDS. Almost a year later Jess is still defying odds in her recovery and is forever grateful for the flight that saved her life.
“I basically owe my life to the RFDS. Without them, I don’t think I’d be here,” she said.
With your support, the Flying Doctor can be there for more people like Jess.
Every tax-deductible donation made to the RFDS (Queensland Section) before 30 June 2026 will help fit-out our new King Air 260C aircraft with life-saving equipment and medical supplies.
