Forever Grateful to Rescuers
Dexter Reynolds was only six years old when he had his first flight in a helicopter – it was one of the most terrifying experiences of his mother Katie’s life.
Dexter was taken to the doctor in Moranbah on September 13 and was diagnosed with a viral infection. His condition continued to deteriorate very quickly and two days later he was back at the hospital. His temperature had risen to 40 degrees, his heart rate was 200 beats per minute and he was hallucinating and struggling to breathe.
An X-ray at Moranbah hospital showed Dexter had pneumonia and one lung had already collapsed. Unbelievably, he also had influenza and scarlet fever. Katie remembers being absolutely terrified for her small son, especially when the doctor told them Dexter was critically ill and needed to be airlifted to Mackay by RACQ CQ Rescue immediately.
““It was so very scary. His prognosis was very grim. My husband Luke went with him on the flight as I’m terrified of flying,” Kate said.”
“I drove to Mackay with my three daughters and met them at the Mackay Base Hospital. My son doesn’t remember anything about the flight at all – that’s how ill he was,” she said.
“The helicopter crew and paramedics were just amazing. They all spoke to us before the flight and instantly put our minds at ease about the transfer. They were so kind and compassionate at what was such a terrifying and emotional time for us as a family,” she said.
Dexter arrived at Mackay hospital about 1.30pm and was admitted for one night before the decision was made to transfer him to Townsville hospital where he spent almost two weeks in the paediatric intensive care unit and another five nights in the general ward afterwards.
He was fortunate to receive the urgent medical treatment he so desperately required and eventually he completely recovered although he has scarring on his lungs which are regularly monitored by X-rays. He still worries a lot about getting sick again. He is now back to being his active, outgoing and football-obsessed self. But it’s an ordeal his parents will never forget.
Luke, who is an electrician at BMA’s Goonyella Riverside mine, is very grateful for the ongoing support of his employer for the Mackay-based rescue service. The service was absolutely invaluable to Moranbah residents and their families and all workers and visitors in Central Queensland, Katie said.
“My mother-in-law was also flown from Moranbah to Mackay by RACQ CQ Rescue in 2015 when she had a brain aneurysm burst. We just never imagined anyone in our family would ever need the rescue helicopter service, and then we used it twice in two years!” Katie said.
“To this day, we feel sick in the stomach when we hear the chopper come into Moranbah. It’s such a tight-knit community, that any time we hear RACQ CQ Rescue we wonder if it’s someone that we know who is ill or injured,” she said.
“It’s incredibly scary to think that my son and mother-in-law may not have survived if they weren’t transferred to Mackay as quickly as they were by our region’s rescue helicopter,” Katie said.
“It’s incredibly scary to think that my son and mother-in-law may not have survived if they weren’t transferred to Mackay as quickly as they were by our region’s rescue helicopter,” Katie said. “We will be forever grateful for the lifesaving work the RACQ CQ Rescue helicopter does for our community,”Kate said.
