Allnurses Central

  • Central
  • Blogs
  • Articles
  • Recreation
  • Pets

Royal Flying Doctor Service

October 14, 2018 by allnur Leave a Comment

I have a story to tell you about the Flying Doctor in Western Australia.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Royal Flying Doctor Service in West Australia, and the Western Australian State Library is holding an exhibition to mark this.

Some 60 years ago, I witnessed my first Flying Doctor recovery, some 300 miles East of a little town called Wiluna in West Australia.

My dad was the manager of Carnegie Station [cattle property] East of Wiluna, and a stockman had come off a horse and broken his leg pretty badly. The Flying Doctor was called via the pedal radio [ie the radio was actually powered by pedalling the generator to provide power] and a couple of hours later, the doctor appeared in the form of a tiny little Auster two seater plane piloted by a RFDS doctor whose name was Dr Harold Dicks. Now, at the time, I was 4 years old and full of curiosity, so this thing appearing out of the sky was pretty amazing to me. My sister got frightened and disappeared under a bed!!!

Eventually, the plane landed in a cloud of dust-I though it had hit the ground and been destroyed!!!!

Out came the pilot who took the right hand door off the plane and proceeded to strap the patient to a rudimentary stretcher with the aid of the station workers. They then tilted the stretcher on its side and slid it into the plane and tied it to the floor next to the pilot’s seat. While this was going on, my Mother had a fire going on the side of the airstrip with a billy of tea on, so the pilot had a quick drink of tea and then took off for his long flight back to the hospital with the patient.

This was probably an easy job for the pilot/doctor. Sometimes it may well have involved a PT with appendicitis or similar.

After seeing that plane, I made myself a promise, that I would learn to fly one of those things and become a doctor. Well, I did learn to fly, but never became a doctor but I am an Ambulance Officer and a rural nurse.

The upshot of all this is that last week, I won a competition run by the Flying Doctor and the Western Australian State Library to tell a story about early experiences with the Flying Doctor.

I told this story because I think it so important to preserve history.

My prise included a return flight to Perth on Skywest Airlines, two nights at the Hilton in Perth, and tours of the Library and the Flying Doctor facilities at Jandakot Airport, the second busiest in the southern hemisphere.

Also, I won a flight in a Boeing 737 simulator, which is a complete 737 cockpit in a building and enables you to “fly” pretty much anywhere in the world. Suffice to say we didn’t do any “gardening” with it and are still very much alive!!!

In the bush in Australia, the Flying Doctor is our lifeline. We would be hard pressed to survive without them. They provide aeromedical evacuation at no cost plus on call consultations and a full range of high level drugs.

The Flying Doctor has been the longest love of my life, spanning 60 years.

Filed Under: Articles

What my patient taught me about life

October 14, 2018 by allnur Leave a Comment

We have so much to be thankful for, and often we forget that. My patient opened my eyes to what I’ve been missing.

Life is short and precious. Often, we take it for granted. The funny thing is that we don’t even realize that we do it. Its human nature to complain, to always want something more, to seek out the better… its second nature to us. It often takes a person or event to catch our eye to make us realize all the joy we’ve been missing. The moment I realized this was when I started my current job.

Last November I was let go from my non-nursing job. Eager for work, I found an agency online and applied. They called me immediately about a case they had available. It sounded like a great case, but I never went in for my interview. I ended up leaving the country for a week, and then I got wrapped up in the holiday season. Once things settled after the new year, I again applied with this agency. This time I went in for an interview. The case they described was the exact one they wanted to put me on months before. Now, I’m believe everything happens for a reason. Seeing as how I was offered the same position twice, I accepted immediately. I knew there had to be a reason I was on this case.

I was assigned to Asher*. A sweet little boy with a seizure disorder, spina bifida and Arnold Chiari malformation. I was very nervous when I went to meet him for the first time. I’ve cared for kids before, but not kids with diagnosis’ like this. In fact, the agency even told me that this was one of their more difficult cases. I was intimidated to say the least. G-tubes, trachs, continuous O2, seizure precautions, and disease processes all had me scared out of my mind. The only thing that didn’t keep me from bolting out the door was the fact that I was offered this case twice. I gave myself a good pep talk, and headed to Asher’s house. When I walked into the room, I saw Asher, sitting in his bed, big smile on his face. He seemed like a happy child, which help ease my worries with this case. After my first shift, I started relaxing a bit. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.

My first few months were rough. Adapting to the equipment, environment and schedule proved more difficult that I imagined. But the one thing that kept me coming back was Asher. Every time I’d start my shift, his whole face would light up. He’d tell me about his day, laugh at my silly jokes and always wanted me to be near to him. The only time he would cry was when he didn’t get his way. I began to love work. When my friends and family would ask me about Asher, I’d tell them the basics (after all, I am bound by HIPPA). Everyone always had the same reaction, “Oh, that poor boy. Life must me miserable for him”. At first, when I started getting these reactions, I was confused. I had told them with a smile on my face and joy in my voice, how did they get ‘miserable’ out of that? I started asking them why they thought these things. The typical answers were about poor quality of life, not being able to do things other kids his age could do, ect. It disappointed me to hear such things. I had a completely different outlook on Asher’s situation. Thats when I realized how much Asher had taught me about life.

Lesson #1: Physical touch is important. Being near another human being and feeling their presence is a wonderful thing. Asher always was holding my hand and giving me hugs. He was showing me love, and I was showing him the same. Sometimes if Asher was having a bad night, all I had to do to fix it was rub his head, or play with his hair. After I realized the importance of physical contact, I began evaluating my own life. I realized I always felt better when I had physical contact of some kind with a friend or family member.

Lesson #2: Happiness is what you make it. Joy and contentment are a state of mind. Asher is a happy boy. He’s not upset or bitter about all the things he can’t do. He loves his life, and he loves sharing it with others. Every month he gets to go into his 4th grade classroom. This last month he answered all the questions the kids had for him all by himself. He loved every second of it. When I came in to work that night, he spent a significant amount of time telling me all about it with a huge smile on his face. His amazing outlook on life makes his quality of life better than most people I know.

Lesson #3: What I did by deciding to stay on my case wasn’t just good for Asher, it was good for the family as well. Taking care of Asher is a full time job, and they were without weekend night help for quite some time. By accepting and staying on this assignment, I was a blessing to the parents. They never stop showing me their appreciation. Not only am I making a difference in one life, but others as well. As nurses, we never know who can be affected by our actions, positive or negative. This case has been a great reminder to me that we affect all we come in contact with.

This case has provided me with a new outlook on life. I am thankful for all I have, and for every person who invests into me. Asher showed me just how great life can be. Like the saying goes… if life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

*Name changed for privacy purposes.

Filed Under: Articles

Recent Posts

  • Why Nurses need the best shoes for plantar fasciitis to stay active in their job
  • Do you favor healthcare rationing?
  • Health Care Reform and Long-Term Care
  • Medicare, Medicaid, and the Elderly Healthcare Consumer
  • Royal Flying Doctor Service

© 2018 · Allnurses Central · About