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MISSION 83 – INVERELL / BANKSTOWN / INVERELL ANGEL FLIGHT ARRIVES IN INVERELL
Additionally,
for those requiring regular and long term medical treatment at major
city centres, the drain on financial resources and time away from
family can place additional pressures on patients and carers alike. But Angel Flight is changing all of this by providing a totally free service through the generosity of fully qualified and registered light aircraft pilots who donate their flying skills and all the expenses of each flight to those in need. And on Sunday 16th May, life was made a little easier for one Inverell family. Born
with a heart-wrenching number of conditions affecting his heart,
muscle tone and coordination as well as suffering from sleep apnoea
and a weight disorder, for the last five years Thomas Day [7] has
had to endure more than 40 trips to Sydney for treatment and observation. "When
we first discovered exactly what was wrong with Thommo [his favourite
name] we wondered what we were going to do living here in Inverell,"
father, Rob Day, said. "We
were helped a lot by Royal Far West in Manly with accommodation
and treatment, but my wife, Nicky, and Thommo still had the long
journey to get there and back, on top of which he has to see numerous
specialists over a period of about two weeks. So there is a lot
of pressure on all of us." Moreover, Mr. Day or another member
of the family had a three-hour drive to and from Tamworth to enable
Thommo and his mother to catch the train to Sydney. "This
meant a very early start from home and by the time they arrived
in Sydney it was quite late which was not good for either Thommo
or his Mum," Mr. Day said. "We saw the Angel Flight advertisement on the television and now instead of the trip being a real drag for Thommo, he counted the number of sleeps before the ‘big adventure’ as he had never been on a light aircraft before. It’s absolutely fantastic, in fact it’s unbelievable that there are people willing to help us out like this it’s truly amazing." This story appearing in The Inverell Times 27/04/04 & !8/05/04.
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Whilst
those living close to major hospitals and specialist medical help
might find a short journey by road extremely uncomfortable and sometimes
unbearable, patients living long distances from such help often
have to endure hours of road travel where every bump and turn in
the road adds to their discomfort. 
