Starting a new role as a RFDS flight nurse in Townsville wasn’t the only thing giving Maddy Cocksedge butterflies.
One morning, she stepped into an aircraft to help the team prepare for an aeromedical retrieval and a handsome aircraft maintenance engineer turned around from the cockpit and said hello. His name was Josh and from that moment Maddy was hooked.
What started as friendly banter quickly turned into something more, when they built up the courage to exchange contact details.
“I just thought he was a really bubbly and friendly person - his energy was infectious,” Maddy said.
It didn’t take long before others colleagues noticed too.
Just before Valentine’s Day 2023, Josh asked Maddy out for their first official date.
“I’m a bit of a romantic so that morning I got up early before the engineers got to work, snuck into his office and left an apple turnover on his desk with a little note inside for him,” Maddy said.
“I nearly got sprung by one of the other engineers too which was funny!”
For the first six months of their relationship, Josh worked away from four to eight weeks at a time gaining experience in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast fitting out the RFDS fleet.
The distance wasn’t always easy, but it never stood in their way. Despite weeks apart, they shared long phone calls, weekend trips along the coast and looked forward to the occasional stolen glance in the hangar.
“We found working together really positive,” Maddy said.
“We both love the RFDS and the service it provides to Australians.
“I wanted to join the RFDS to help people. I have always had a real passion for helping others and retrievals just seemed an incredible platform to be able to deliver care to people in regional, rural and remote communities.”
Over the next two years , their love for each other grew alongside their shared passion for the RFDS.
In June 2025, Josh proposed to Maddy on Green Island with a central Queensland sapphire ring.
“It was such a beautiful, private moment,” Maddy said.
“We spent the weekend snorkelling the reef and celebrating just the two of us before sharing the news with our family and friends.”
“We travelled back to Central Queensland at the end of last year and found an Australian sapphire for Josh’s wedding band.”
With wedding planning now well underway the pair are set to marry on the anniversary of their proposal.
