New Year dash to save baby Mia
New Year’s Eve family celebrations were cut short for young mum Amy Marett when her 3 month old first born, Mia, started fitting. Mia was rushed to hospital in Bourke then airlifted by the RFDS to Orange for specialist treatment. .jpg)
“It was a scary time,” says 24 year old Amy, who lives with husband Nathan on a sheep and cattle station 50kms outside of Louth. “I’d never seen Mia do anything like it before and I didn’t know what to do.
“She went red, her body stiffened and she cried out in pain. It was a cry I’d never heard before. She did that four or five times, tensing her body and breathing out after she stiffened. Then she turned pale. She looked as white as a sheet and was floppy and sleepy.”
Thankfully, Amy and her husband Nathan were spending New Year’s Eve with Amy’s parents, who run the local pub in Louth. As an ex-nurse Amy’s mum realised how serious the symptoms were and rang for an ambulance.
“Bourke is 140kms from Louth, so there was no way we were going to sit and wait for them,” says Amy. “We told them we’d drive to meet them, with our hazard lights on so they would know it was us.”
With Nathan at the wheel and grandma in the back of the car nursing baby Mia, they tore along the bumpy road. “Mum had to give Mia mouth to mouth resuscitation three times during the journey,” recalls Amy, who by now was scared for her baby’s life.
When they eventually met up with the ambulance Mia was given oxygen and taken directly to BourkeHospital. “She seemed much better by the time we arrived, but the local doctor was concerned. He rang Sydney and was told to put her on a plane and send her to the nearest intensive care unit.”
Dubbo Flight nurse Gayle Leverett was the duty officer on call that night. “The call came in just as the clock struck midnight. The phone rang and the fireworks went off at the same time!”
Gayle grabbed her things and flew to Bourke with pilot Ashley Myles to pick up Mia. “We were pleased to see she’d responded well to the oxygen and fluids she’d been given, but Amy was understandably worried. We flew them to hospital in Orange, and two days later we were delighted to hear that Mia had made a full recovery,” says Gayle.
“We’re so thankful to the Flying Doctor Service,” adds Amy. “It’s reassuring to know they can pick you up so quickly. We rely on that service and we wouldn’t survive without it, so thank you to all our Flying Heroes and Heroines!”
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Pictured above left: Mia and Mum Amy.
Pictured above left: Mia and Dad Nathan.