Most people never require the services of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. But for one Werribee man, the service’s staff have come to his rescue not once but twice in the past 10 months.
Doug Mullett was on a 5500-kilometre fundraising trek from Cairns to Perth when he came off his motorcycle on a road between Alice Springs and the Western Australian border on May 17.
The 65-year-old had left the Yulara Resort at Uluru earlier in the day and was 22 days into his journey to raise money for the flying doctor service.
Mr Mullett had set off on the trek from Werribee on April 26 to raise money for the service after he had been airlifted to Adelaide following a crash in outback New South Wales last September.
He was so impressed then by the care he received that he vowed to raise $6000 for the service. His fundraising goal matched the cost of his evacuation from the outback to Adelaide.
This time, Mr Mullett was evacuated from Yulara to Alice Springs after losing control of his bike on a sand road. He landed on his side, breaking eight ribs and his shoulder blade.
When the ambulance arrived, paramedics placed Mr Mullett in a neck brace and transferred him to the medical centre at Yulara, where the doctor discovered that he also had a collapsed lung. It was then that the flying doctor service was called to insert a drain into his collapsed lung and to transport him.
Mr Mullett had raised $4500 for the flying doctor service when the second accident occurred. He plans to raise the remaining $1500 from the safety of his home.
Details: rfdsvic-fundraisers.everydayhero.com/au/doug
