Photo: Charlie in her seat on the jet
I remember years ago when my youngest daughter, Grace, was just a baby. She had a bit of a rough time with Kidney Reflux, a Bacterial infection and even Scarlett Fever. We had numerous ambulance trips and the most harrowing for me was when they took my baby away for a lumber puncture. They were scary times for new mum.
Once, when Grace was in hospital my husband took his turn in sitting with her whilst I drove the 45 minutes home to have a shower and rest. On my way back to the hospital I was on the highway on the inside of a huge semi trailer. I remember this to this day, like it was in slow motion.... the driver of the truck started to change lanes and he didn't see me. The truck kept coming and I distinctly remember thinking my little baby is in hospital and her mother is about to die. Luckily, I was able to steer on to the verge of the road, stop the car and gather myself. For those few seconds, time had stopped and all I can remember is thinking about Grace in hospital and her mother – dead. Even typing this I get a tightness in my chest when I recall it.
Luckily, for us, our child grew up to be a strong fabulous woman. I feel blessed to two beautiful daughters, now in their 20's that have survived childhood.
Some parents are not so lucky.
I work as an Ambassador for an organisation that transports very sick children from regional NSW (Australia) to their medical appointments in Sydney and Newcastle. Everyone in the organisation is a volunteer, even the pilots. Wings4kids rely on fundraising to operate and families are not charged for this service.
Last week, I had the privilege of taking a flight with one of the sick children; a one-year-old baby, Charlie. Charlie just had brain surgery. You can read the full story about this trip with Wings4kidz here.
I write this story with such gratitude that I am a mother of two beautiful daughters. I'm also grateful that there are people in this world that really do care about others and start organisations such as Wings4Kidz.
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