The Flying Doctor

When Jaimen Hudson became a quadriplegic at the age of 17, after crashing onto his head from a dirt bike, he refused to let his disability define him. Now a world-famous photographer and filmmaker, a husband and father and the owner of a successful eco-adventure business in the stunning Esperance region of WA, Jaimen attributes much of his life's success to his positive attitude. And it was this same positive mindset that the now 33-year-old had to draw heavily upon when, on Easter Monday 2024, he was thrown from his all-terrain wheelchair and broke his neck a second time. 

****

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. You can find out more about Jaimen's extraordinary drone photography and eco-adventures at Print Store | Speaking Engagements | Photography – Jaimen Hudson

There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated.  You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to [email protected]. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Annabelle (Annie) Barr enjoys an adventure. 'Today is the first day of the rest of your life' is one of her favourite sayings. But when this former country newspaper columnist, rural mum and massage therapist suddenly found herself in a tiny country pub in the remote Flinders Ranges region of South Australia, choking on a piece of goat meat, she was stumped as to what to do. Annie had a goat in her throat - and it wasn't going anywhere! The single mum and her 12-year-old son found themselves surrounded by strangers, unexpectedly stranded and many miles from home.

***

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated.  You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to [email protected]. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We all have plenty of theories on what makes a happy marriage, a fulfilling career and a life of adventure and fun. But if anyone comes close to achieving the trifecta, it would probably be former RFDS base manager, Alison Fox and her husband (and current RFDS pilot) Bruce Carroll. In this amusing, inspiring and highly entertaining trip down memory lane, Alison and Bruce share the true stories - and tall tales - of their respective time spent working at the Meekatharra RFDS base in WA....and the incredible patients, community members and RFDS staff who shared their adventures. 

***

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated.  You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to [email protected]. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whether you love them or loathe them, there's no denying that snakes are an inevitable part of life in regional Australia - particularly if you live in or around our beautiful bushlands. But what would YOU do if you - or someone you were with - were to suffer a suspected snake bite? And what happens if you're hundreds of kilometers from help or emergency advice?

Over a one-year period (as part of a larger, three-year study) the RFDS (Western Operations) found that 85 people from regional, rural, remote and very remote Western Australia were flown by Royal Flying Doctor Service to hospital for suspected or confirmed snake bites. While only five of these patients (6%) ultimately received a toxicologist’s diagnosis of envenomation, the research showed just how challenging a remote or regional 'suspected snake bite' scenario can be. Dr Hamish Bradley is an adjunct Lecturer, Anaesthetist and Aeromedical Retrieval Specialist and he's pretty passionate about keeping us all just a little bit safer this snake season!

***

thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated.  You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to [email protected]. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Always wear a seatbelt. That's the message that Laura McKenney wants the world to hear loud and clear. As an 'unbelted' passenger in a catastrophic car accident in January 2023, the then 21-year-old student nurse was flung from a friend's vehicle, before the same car rolled back over the top of her. Remarkably, none of Laura's bones were broken. But the severe head injury she sustained, along with an injury-induced stroke, nearly cost Laura her life. Her family was told she might never wake up. That in all likelihood, she would never again walk or even talk. Today, Laura is walking her way through her second Oceans to Outback RFDS fundraising challenge. And she and her sister Emily are ready to tell their story.

****

If you'd like to join Laura's army and the other incredible fundraisers involved in this year's Oceans to Outback, simply head to Royal Flying Doctor Service : Home (oceanstooutback.org.au) And thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated.  You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to [email protected]. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thankfully, community conversations and support services around mental health - particularly in rural and remote areas of Australia - are increasing all the time. The importance of checking in regularly with our family, neighbours and friends and even simply taking the time to care of our own wellbeing and 'headspace' is undeniable. But over 10 years ago, when Broken Hill grazier Brendan Cullen found himself lacking energy, drinking too much and simply feeling overwhelmed, he realised he needed professional help. Thanks to the support, advice and tools offered up by his local health service and the RFDS, Brendan discovered a new 'lease on life', as well as a passion for long-distance swimming.

****

If you’d like to find out more about the RFDS 'We've got your back program' (WGYB) you can connect at https://www.facebook.com/wevegotyourbackprogram?mibextid=LQQJ4d  If this episode has raised immediate concerns for you or a member of your family, you can also call Lifeline on Call 13 11 14 

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated.  You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to [email protected]. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2024 has been a big year in the Buchanan household. Newly married and with an active two-year-old in the house, Alex and her husband Luke were busy settling themselves, and their young son Fletcher, into their 'new life' in rural South Australia. Luke had just been appointed the new Principal at St Columba’s Memorial School and as former 'city slickers', both Alex and Luke were already enjoying the friendly, close-knit community and beach lifestyle on offer in their new home of Yorketown. But the Buchanan's lives were about to change forever.

***

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us, as we continue to celebrate reaching our 100th episode milestone. And we hope you'll stay with us for another 100 episodes to come! There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners and those we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated.  You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to [email protected]. 

We'd also love you to join the conversation at our Facebook Group called the Flying Doctor Podcast Community 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The life of a Jillaroo can be a challenging one. Working in all weather, sleeping under the stars and regularly setting up temporary muster camps, are all part of the job. No two days are ever the same. But for professional Jillaroo, Katie Fairfax, one of the most dangerous and challenging days of her life did not come about during a cattle muster, or a long-distance road trip...or even while handling heavy machinery. Instead, Katie's life-threatening event and her resulting retrieval by the RFDS, occurred after she started chasing a runaway chicken...and cut her artery with a lawn sprinkler!

***

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us, as we continue to celebrate reaching our 100th episode milestone. And we hope you'll stay with us for another 100 episodes to come! There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners and those we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated.  You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to [email protected]. 

We'd also love you to join the conversation at our Facebook Group called the Flying Doctor Podcast Community 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anyone who regularly works with livestock knows how stressful mustering time can be. The combination of time pressures and lots of large animals in a confined space can quickly become a dangerous situation. Add in months of drought, an unfamiliar horse and some confused and cranky cattle and you have the scenario that TJ and Kylie faced, during an early morning muster at Southhamption Station in Qld, back in 2014. This is a story of unexpected outcomes, crossed communication channels and plenty of stoic outback humour.

****

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us, as we continue to celebrate reaching our 100th episode milestone. And we hope you'll stay with us for another 100 episodes to come! There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners and those we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated.  You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to [email protected]. 

We'd also love you to join the conversation at our Facebook Group called the Flying Doctor Podcast Community 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode #104 of the Flying Doctor podcast, we met Greg - a passionate, 70-year-old surfer, who is lucky to be alive after suffering a stroke while on his board. Thanks to a FAST diagnosis from his wife Naomi and the incredible actions of first responders on the scene, Greg survived. But the long distance that Greg - along with other remote Australian stroke survivors we've interviewed on this podcast - had to travel to receive a full brain scan, can play a critical role in a patient's long-term recovery.  Accurately diagnosing and treating a stroke in the 'golden hour' after a bleed or blood clot strikes, can even mean the difference between life and death. Dr Zoe Schofield is the RFDS’s Federal Research Strategic Projects Manager and the project lead for the integration of portable brain scanners into aeromedical retrieval for the Australian Stroke Alliance - collaborative health project currently conducting ground-breaking research into portable brain scanners and stroke detection technology. 

****

The Australian Stroke Alliance recommends that we always BE FAST with stroke diagnosis - by checking BALANCE, EYES, FACE, ARMS, SPEECH and TIME (ring 000). You can find a full list of organisations working within the Australian Stroke Alliance - along with a heap of great research articles and news updates - at https://austrokealliance.org.au/

You can also find more about the research that the RFDS and Stroke Alliance is doing by following this link to our latest stroke report: https://files.flyingdoctor.org.au/dd/files/RN110_Stroke_Alliance_Research_Report_P1_Web.ff08.pdf?_ga=2.125308746.1186623458.1724133185-1925006437.1720657219

We hope you enjoyed this special episode around Stroke awareness – made possible with the support of RFDS national partner, HCF, Australia’s largest not-for-profit health fund. To learn more, visit HCF health insurance | Your health comes first | HCF

Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated.  You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to [email protected]. 

We'd also love you to join the conversation at our Facebook Group called the Flying Doctor Podcast Community 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.