Family Advocates for Rescue Flights After Daughter's Near-Fatal Crash

Lucy Scott's life hung in the balance after a severe vehicle rollover on her family's remote cattle property left her with multiple neck fractures, just millimeters from her spinal cord. Thrown from the vehicle, she awoke on the ground in shock, realizing the gravity of her injuries.

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I woke up on the ground and was obviously just in horrific shock. I just knew that it was bad.

With no phone service and located 50 kilometers from Roma, her partner, Jethro Tessan, had no choice but to leave her side and trek for help. He eventually reached the Scott family home, where Lucy's mother, Kate Scott, a long-time volunteer for the aeromedical charity LifeFlight, made the urgent call to emergency services.

Within 45 minutes, a LifeFlight helicopter arrived, landing in the family's paddock. "Hearing those chopper blades coming in and seeing that critical care doctor climb out of that helicopter and the paramedic come towards us was a feeling that I'll never forget," Kate Scott recounted. She emphasized that a road ambulance ride over the rough terrain would have been far too dangerous given Lucy's critical neck injury.

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Everything just slowed right down for me. I just couldn't believe what had happened.

Lucy was flown to Toowoomba Hospital for monitoring and subsequent surgery. However, the critical service that saved her life is now facing a significant funding shortfall. LifeFlight's South West hub in Roma, established in 2011, has seen demand surpass its contracted flying hours. The service is tracking towards a 70-hour shortfall this year, highlighting a gap in regional Queensland's aeromedical support.

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Hearing those chopper blades coming in and seeing that critical care doctor climb out of that helicopter and the paramedic come towards us was a feeling that I'll never forget.

Community members are urged to support LifeFlight through initiatives like the CashCow fundraising event at the Roma Saleyards in June, where graziers can donate livestock. So far, $20,000 has been raised, but organizers stress that community support is vital to keep the life-saving helicopter service operational.

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If she had to endure a road ambulance ride back into Roma, I hate to think what would have happened, because we had no idea that she had a fractured neck that was millimetres away from her spinal cord.