For 64-year-old Otto Dann, the RFDS provided the final step in a long and challenging medical journey.
In April, Otto suffered a serious stroke in his community of Gunbalanya, 300km east of Darwin, requiring an urgent aeromedical evacuation to Royal Darwin Hospital.
After months of treatment, he was transferred to Palmerston Regional Hospital’s rehabilitation ward, on the outskirts of Darwin, where he spent weeks re-learning skills affected by the stroke: movement, speech, strength, and daily living.
“Otto’s rehab was long and arduous due to his condition, left-sided hemiplegia, which resulted in neurological issues including slurred speech and visual neglect,” RFDS Flight Nurse-Midwife Dave Szyc said.
“This meant returning home wasn’t as simple as booking a flight or jumping in a car.
"Coordinating his discharge and return took careful planning, with hospital, community and family working alongside the RFDS to ensure a safe air transfer.”
When the big day finally arrived, Otto wasn’t alone.
Alongside his son, he was airlifted by the RFDS (Pilot and Flight Nurse), accompanied by an occupational therapist and speech pathologist from the hospital, who spent time at Otto’s home educating his family and carers to support his ongoing recovery.
On boarding the RFDS PC-12 aircraft, Otto expressed his excitement to the Flying Doctor crew.
I’m gonna be home for Christmas. I have a big mob family waiting for me to come home.
Otto Dann
Otto’s new home in Gunbalanya had been specially built to accommodate his needs, but the necessary equipment such as a multi-functional bed and mobility aids still needed to be relocated to his home prior to his return.
The RFDS crew patiently waited, giving the travelling hospital team time to ensure everything was just right.
Once Otto was safely settled in his new home, overlooking a stunning view of the billabong and escarpment, the RFDS crew flew back to Darwin with another patient and their escort for specialist care.
About the RFDS’s LAMR Service
For more than a year, the Royal Flying Doctor Service’s newest retrieval service out of Darwin has been quietly changing lives across the Territory.
The Low Acuity Medical Retrieval (LAMR) Service provides safe and efficient air transfers for patients who need non-emergency care but are geographically isolated from hospital, as well as those who no longer need acute hospital care but still require clinical support to travel home.
Since becoming fully operational, the service has helped dozens of Territorians return safely to their communities – many from remote and isolated areas that would otherwise be challenging to reach via road.
Otto’s care journey is just one of many the RFDS’s LAMR Service has made possible; a reminder that the trip home is sometimes the most significant part of recovery.
Learn more about the Flying Doctor.
