Oliver Zimmerman had worked hard for his school eisteddfod in Goondiwindi. He was nervous walking onto the stage, but he knew every line.
Partway through his performance, an asthma attack took hold. His mother, Laura, a nurse practitioner, had slipped but briefly to see a patient. By the time she got the call, Oliver had collapsed and was at Goondiwindi Hospital.
At Goondiwindi Hospital, Oliver was in severe bronchospasm. He needed one magnesium infusion, then another. When he still required a higher level of care, the decision was made to transfer him to Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane.
Laura understood what that meant in a way no parent wants to.
“I was his mum, but I am also a nurse practitioner. I knew how sick he was. I knew he could die. And I knew I couldn’t safely put him in a car and drive him to Brisbane,” Laura said.
Brisbane was hours away, with long stretches of road without mobile coverage. Geography had become part of Oliver’s clinical risk. Then the RFDS arrived.
The crew spoke directly to Oliver, who is autistic, and quickly understood how he communicated and adjusted without Laura needing to explain.
“They could have acted about 10 different ways,” Laura said.
“They were so gracious. I must have looked like a frazzled something, but they were so kind.”
But kindness was only part of what the RFDS gave them that night.
In the aircraft, Oliver had a doctor and nurse beside him. The distance to Brisbane had not changed. What changed was the risk that distance created.
“My son wasn’t a second-class citizen in Australia anymore,” Laura said.
“That’s postcode equity. My son is still alive.”
Oliver is now back at school and starting sport again. His family is still raising their children in Goondiwindi.
For Laura, that is what the RFDS makes possible. It does not simply get rural Australians out when something goes wrong. It helps make it possible for them to stay.
“We can be here,” Laura said, “because the RFDS is here.”
The RFDS (Queensland Section) gratefully acknowledges the generous funding support from Queensland Health to deliver essential inter-facility patient transfers.
