Sue Gillon knows just how important the role the Royal Flying Doctor Service plays is.
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On February 24, 1994, her 11-year-old son Andrew was hit by a car while coming off the school bus.
He acquired severe brain-damage.
“I did life-saving skills … until the ambulance arrived,” Mrs Gillon recalled.
“He wasn’t breathing when I found him, and I was able to get him to breathe.”
After being taken to the Launceston General Hospital, the Royal Flying Doctor Service took them to Hobart.
Mrs Gillon, of Evandale, said the RDFS was “wonderful”.
“I truly believe that without all of those things in place, we mightn’t have had Andrew here today,” Mrs Gillon said.
Andrew was seen by a “wonderful” surgeon in Hobart, but remained in a coma for three months.
“I went down with [the RFDS to Hobart], and I didn’t come home for four and a half months,” Mrs Gillon said.
“I decided I wouldn’t come home until he came home.”
Mrs Gillon said Andrew’s recovery had been a “long, hard road”.
I went down with [the RFDS to Hobart], and I didn’t come home for four and a half months.
- Evandale woman Sue Gillon says the RFDS saved her son's life
“He’s the most amazing person, he believes he has a wonderful life,” Mrs Gillon said.
Andrew, who lives in Launceston, is now married with a three-year-old daughter.
“Many, many people have contributed to his recovery,” Mrs Gillon said.
“He was in a wheelchair for a long time … and then we got him walking, so it’s been a long, hard journey,” Mrs Gillon said.
“But, it’s been wonderful too, that we actually still had him.”
To express her family’s thanks to the RFDS, Mrs Gillon will host a fundraiser on Sunday, November 27. The event will run from 10am until 5pm at Strathmore Historic Gardens at 868 Nile Road, Evandale, just past the Clarendon House turnoff. There will be tea, coffee, scones, music, a raffle, garden and bric a brac stalls and the chance to admire 13.5 acres of amazing garden. The entry fee is a $10 donation for adults and a gold coin donation for children. All funds raised will go to RFDS Tasmania. For information, call Mrs Gillon on 6398 6213.