Thrown through the wash: Jason's story

Unfortunately, his dream quickly turned into a nightmare.

Alongside his tour group, Jason set off from Marree in Far North SA – a 500-kilometre ride to Birdsville.

Little did Jason know, his ride would come to a crashing end just 50 kilometres later.

After heavy flooding the week prior, a deep washout had formed on the road – and Jason was riding straight towards it.

“I had nowhere to go. At that moment, I knew I was in trouble,” Jason said.

Travelling at 80km/h, he crashed. Hard.

His bike cartwheeled, launching Jason 50 metres down the dirt road.

“I was awake for all of it – it was like being in a washing machine,” he said.

Thankfully, his group was trailing behind – they immediately sent a radio SOS to the area.

It was clear Jason was in serious trouble, laying lifeless in the middle of the track.

"I had never felt such pain in my life,” Jason said.

“Laying there in the dirt, the first thing I did was lift my head and look at my feet.

“I wiggled both feet, which gave me a glimmer of hope.”

Nearby, Karen Ellis happened to be leading a camel trek with a school group when the call for help came through her UHF radio.

Having kept up with First Aid training since a teen, she didn’t hesitate to help.

“For me – it’s just a given,” Karen said.

“That’s part of the responsibility of being nearby with an RFDS Medical Chest and the skills.”

Equipped with her Medical Chest comprising first aid and medical supplies, Karen arrived at a confronting scene.

Immediately, the situation seemed life or death.

“It was absolutely awful arriving to see Jason. He was in a bad way and in horrendous pain,” Karen said.

More than 400km from the nearest hospital – in the worst pain of his life – Jason needed the Flying Doctor.

Karen raised the alarm, receiving doctor guidance over the phone while the RFDS’s Remote Area Clinic team from Marree arrived on scene.

Meanwhile, an aeromedical team comprising a critical care doctor, flight nurse and pilot was rapidly dispatched from the RFDS Port Augusta Base to meet the group at the nearby Clayton Station airstrip.

Despite his dire situation, Jason felt immense relief watching the PC-12 aircraft land.

"Once I was in the plane, I finally felt safe, secure and like I was going to make it," he said.

“The RFDS doctor, nurse and pilot collectively worked to stabilise me and ultimately save my life.”

Following a two-hour flight to Adelaide, Jason was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The RFDS doctor and flight nurse did not leave his side the entire time.

“They came all the way into the ICU and made sure I was handed over appropriately to hospital staff,” Jason said.

Sadly for Jason, surviving the accident was only the first step.

He had sustained an open book fracture to his pelvis, fractures to both hip sockets and four cracked vertebrae.

After several days of surgery in Adelaide, where he lost almost half his blood – and further treatment in Sydney closer to home – the road to recovery was long.

Injured in July, Jason spent months rebuilding his strength and learning to walk again, setting his sights on being home for Christmas.

“I walked out of the hospital in Sydney on 1 November on a couple of crutches,” he said.

“It felt surreal. Very emotional.”

The challenges continued long after he left hospital. Complications, including abnormal bone growth around his hip and a golden staph infection, led to four more surgeries over the following year.

Now, nearly two years on, Jason is finally free from medical appointments.

While he still experiences ongoing pain, he remains deeply appreciative.

“I am forever grateful for Karen, my mates and the RFDS team,” he said.

“They’re just amazing people — so calm and helpful.

“Had they not been there that day, I have no doubt that I would not have survived."