JODIE MILLS

Medallist

Flying in the face of adversity

Her arrival in the Northern Territory as a flight medic bringing help to people in remote areas seems to have been predestined.

Jodie Mills, a Senior Flight Nurse with CareFlight in Darwin, knows what it means to have a serious medical condition a long way from a major hospital.

Mills, 42, was born with one kidney and raised in rural Casterton, in western Victoria.

“I was quite unwell as a child,” she says. “I’ve had two kidney transplants. I was on haemodialysis 400km from a hospital as a nine-year-old. I don’t know a life without medicine — I’m used to being around medicine and hospitals.

“I can reflect now and see what my parents went through putting a sick child in a car and driving 400km. That’s why I wanted to be a flight nurse, to get to people and let them know everything’s going to be OK, most times, and get them to help.”

Mills works for a remarkable team of 120 out of a hangar near the main Darwin airport. It includes 26 flight nurses, nine fulltime flight doctors, 10 medical retrieval consultants, logistics staff, 20 pilots and 15 engineers maintaining four twin-engine planes and a helicopter.

They reach into the most remote parts of the Top End, flying day or night. Most clients are indigenous, and among the most common medical issues they see are respiratory problems.

“There’s a high incidence of premature birth and with that goes insufficient development of lungs, making them more susceptible to chest infections through their life,” says Mills.

But, she says, there is “no such things as a typical day in aero-med. We come in see if there are jobs waiting. If there’s no job, we check out the aircraft and prepare ourselves for a mission.

“It could be anything from a patient who’s had a traumatic accident, a heart attack, chest infection, to a lady having a premature baby on a community.”

Mills says her job is “beyond rewarding”.

“I was given a second chance. I got my first kidney at 12 from a young man who died in a car accident, to whom I’ll be forever grateful. That kidney got me through uni, and multiple degrees, until I was 26. Then my mum gave me a kidney.”

Having spent 13 years at Royal Melbourne as an intensive care nurse, Mills headed north to make a career change for her dream job seven years ago.

“I always wanted always to be a flight nurse but wanted to be a midwife as well,” she says.

“I came to the Territory so I could have as much exposure to indigenous health as I could.”

Because her own health is in a delicate state, she recently left the planes after six years and has moved into operations management.

“Though I’d like to be a flight nurse forever, that may not be an option for me,” she says, adding that she’ll continue flying when she can.

— Paul Toohey

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STEPHEN CARDONA

Medallist

Tourette’s campaigner

A proud indigenous Australian, Stephen Cardona has for the past two years worked to raise awareness of Tourette syndrome, from which he suffers.

Having been bullied himself at school, Cardona has used his own experience to help others with the condition by reassuring them they are not alone.

His fundraising efforts have resulted in five children from the Northern Territory being sent to the National Tourette’s camp in 2017.

The camp, at which Cardona speaks, aims to provide support to sufferers.

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VANESSA LOWE

Medallist

Awareness raiser

After losing her 16-year-old son Taylor Thomas Luck to suicide in 2014, Vanessa Lowe turned her grief into something positive, founding the Come Walk With Me event, which coincides with World Suicide Prevention Day in September.

An initiative to raise awareness in the hope that people stop seeing suicide as an option, the event started in 2015 with 150 walkers and grew to about 250 last year.

“We have to break the stigma, so that people who are finding life tough … reach out, get help, talk and don’t be ashamed,” she says.

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TARICK BIDDLECOMBE SULLIVAN

Medallist

Cycling star

When his mum Jane was diagnosed with an incredibly rare and deadly form of cancer, Tarick Biddlecombe Sullivan was inspired to raise money for much-needed research.

Aged just nine, he dressed as his favourite Star Wars character, Boba Fett, and undertook a 50km ride with his mother across the Top End on a three-wheel recumbent bike.

“Next year I plan on doing a 100km bike ride. I want to push myself in honour of my mum,” he says of Jane, who continues to battle her disease.

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PAIGE RYAN

Medallist

Helping hand

Social media was the trigger for Paige Ryan to help fellow Darwin family, the Imms, save their daughter’s life.

The Imms 10-year-old daughter Jordan had been flown to Victoria for lifesaving heart surgery. But, once there, they couldn’t source the formula needed to feed her and keep her alive.

Putting a call out for help on social media, the Imms were overwhelmed when Ryan not only sourced the formula, but rushed it on a flight to Jordan’s bedside. In addition, she slipped $500 into the care package.

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DAVID WILSON

Medallist

Nature lover

As a child, David Wilson was fascinated with Australia’s aquatic flora and fauna. And as an adult, he’s made it his mission to promote Top End aquatic plants to the world.

In addition to helping visiting film crews, he also teaches local kids about aquarium keeping.

And as President of the Australia New Guinea Fishes Association, he has supported traditional owners, ensuring future money made from specimen collecting and breeding is returned to the owners of the lands where these native fish and plants were collected.

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TAYLA MAUER

Medallist

Devoted daughter

Her mother’s life is about to be cut tragically short due to a rare and aggressive form of cancer.

But 12-year old Tayla Mauer isn’t giving up on making life better for her family and others battling the insidious disease.

Described by her mum Louanna as “a little fundraising star”, Mauer is a volunteer and advocate for CanTeen’s Bandanna day and recently raised $2500 for the charity.

The funds have gone towards camps and activities young people like Mauer enjoy, which is all the thanks she says she needs.

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JONATHON BENHAM

Medallist

Nurse in action

The tragic suicides of two friends led Jonathon Benham to encourage those suffering from mental health issues to speak out.

A mental health nurse, Benham has participated in the Black Dog Ride in the past seven years to raise awareness and funds for depression and suicide.

In the last Black Dog Ride, a 10-day journey from Alice Springs to Darwin, Benham raised $5000 towards the cause.

“In the 10 days we were away, 80 people committed suicide and yet people don’t talk about it and it’s not reported,” he says of his continued passion to raise awareness.

“It’s taking away the stigma and creating conversations ... creating conversations is the first step to making a change. (Suicide is) the leading cause of death for people under 45, yet it’s not something in the public eye.”

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Heroes honoured

Watch our medallists receive their well-deserved awards in the video below.

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