A 13-year-old boy saved by LifeFlight after he fell six metres from a tree is giving back by supporting the charity’s fundraising appeal for more critical care doctors.
Eli Jarick needed a doctor only procedure to save his life, after falling from a tree in his family’s backyard at Pine Creek Bundaberg, in March.
The branch he was sitting on suddenly snapped and Eli hit the ground hard, sustaining life-threatening injuries including a punctured lung and brain bleed.
LifeFlight is aiming to raise $1 million for the Critical Care Doctor Program, to support increased rostering statewide so medical care can be on standby around the clock.
LifeFlight Australia CEO, Ashley van de Velde OAM, said the not-for-profit depended on the generosity of Queenslanders and its own profit-for-purpose initiatives to continue to serve communities.
“To ensure health equity and certainty for the communities we serve, our organisation is expanding,” he said.
“More doctors, paramedics, pilots, engineers and aircraft are required if we’re to meet this increasing demand for people facing challenging and traumatic situations who often need to be airlifted from remote communities.
“We’ve been tasked to raise an additional $1 million to ensure our critical care doctors are always on standby, ready to respond at a moment’s notice when people like Eli need us.”
Without the skills of a LifeFlight critical care doctor, Eli’s outcome would have been very different.
LifeFlight critical care Doctor Richard Parker had just started his shift at the Bundaberg base when the call came in about Eli’s accident.
Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) flight paramedic Kevin Charteris picked Dr Parker up and they drove to Eli’s house.
Dr Parker took one look at Eli and knew he needed LifeFlight.
“When I saw Eli, he was laying on the ground under the tree and the first thing I thought was that he needed a helicopter to Brisbane to the Queensland Children’s Hospital,” Dr Parker said.
“We put him into an induced coma and put a tube down his throat so that we could control his breathing and monitor his progress during the flight.”
Around 40 minutes later, the rescue helicopter landed at the Jarick’s property, and airlifted Eli to Queensland Children’s Hospital for vital treatment.
“Having critical care doctors available 24/7 is essential for ensuring timely, specialised care when every second counts,” Dr Parker said.
“With the Critical Care Doctor Program, we can provide life-saving interventions at a moment’s notice, whether it’s stabilising a patient at a rural site or facilitating time critical transfers to specialist care.”
Eli has recovered well, is back at school and thankful to those who helped him – especially Dr Parker.
“I’m very grateful for what he did. I’m just glad he was there,” he said.
Since taking to the skies 45 years ago LifeFlight has helped close to 90,000 people.
More than 180 medical professionals, including critical care doctors, are employed by LifeFlight, making it the largest employer of aeromedical doctors in Australia.
To support LifeFlight’s goal of fundraising $1 million, visit lifeflight.org.au/support-our-doctors/ and help ensure LifeFlight critical care doctors are always ready to respond at a moment’s notice.
