‘He held us together’: Aspiring Townsville pilot Barney Preston dies of septic shock

When an aspiring Townsville pilot woke up with a sore neck after a night at the rodeo, he didn’t think much of it — four days later, he died in hospital.

When aspiring pilot Barney Preston woke up with a sore neck after a night out at the rodeo, he didn’t think much of it — four days later, he tragically died in hospital.

The 31-year-old Townsville man had been in Mount Isa to visit family and go to the rodeo when he woke up with a sore neck on Sunday, August 14.

Girlfriend Maddison Hegarty said they assumed he had just “kinked his neck”, but she took him to the hospital after it became swollen on Monday.

She said the doctors sent them home with a script for pain medications, and Barney told her to go home to Townsville, promising to join her there on Tuesday.

But Barney’s condition quickly deteriorated, and his mum rushed him back to hospital when the pain from his neck began spreading down his back on Tuesday morning.

Aspiring Townsville pilot Barney Preston, 31, tragically died of septic shock on Wednesday, August 17.

“I got a call telling me the doctors came back with blood results showing he had a bad infection of sorts, but they didn’t know what it was,” Ms Hegarty.

“We didn’t find out what he had until he passed.”

Ms Hegarty said she was later told that Barney had gone into septic shock — an infection causing organ failure and dangerously low blood pressure — after he contracted strep throat.

She said the infection was quick to take hold and the last time she was able to speak to Barney was by video call before he was put in an induced coma on Tuesday afternoon.

“I told him I’d fly back to Mount Isa right away to be by his side, but he told me: No, babe, they’re flying me to Townsville I’ll see you when I get there,” she said.

“I could just see over the phone that he was in pain.”

Barney Preston is being remembered as a caring man who "always put others before himself" by his girlfriend Maddison Hegarty (pictured). The couple moved to Townsville together last year.

She said that Barney’s kidneys began shutting down soon after that call, and he was struggling to breathe before doctors put him in an induced coma and flew him to Townsville hospital about 12am on Wednesday.

“When he got here, they put him straight into ICU and hooked him up to an incubator and dialysis machine,” she said.

Ms Hegarty said doctors told her to prepare for the worst after his condition “crashed” about 9am.

“They told me I’d probably only have a couple of hours left with him,” she said.

“His mum was driving up from Mount Isa and got there at about 9pm and we sat there with him together before he passed at about 10pm. His heart just stopped.”

Ms Hegarty said the young couple had just moved to Townsville together last year.

She said Barney, who had been working as a truck driver, was in the process of earning his pilot’s licence and had a promising life ahead of him.

“When he finally was able to fly solo, he was so happy you couldn’t wipe the smile off his face — it was a big thing for him,” she said.

“He was a very loving, caring and selfless person.

“At the rodeo, he saw this fella who didn’t have enough to get a pizza, so he handed him his and we went home. That’s just the kind of person he was.

“He put everyone before himself, and he held us all together.

“You could always count on Barney. Losing him has been devastating.”

A GoFundMe appeal has been set up to help Barney’s family fly him home to New Zealand to lay him to rest.

You can help here: https://gofund.me/0096fd71

Originally published as ‘He held us together’: Aspiring Townsville pilot Barney Preston dies of septic shock