Record crowd provides record result for RACQ LifeFlight Rescue

The fund raising ball put an incredible $420,000 toward the life saving organisation.

Enjoying the LifeFlight Ball at Rumours are (from left) Mikaela Henry, Gemma Gray, Louise Hamilton, Kate Riujter, Carla Dale and Karla Johnston.

A record crowd turned out to raise funds for RACQ LifeFlight Rescue at the Toowoomba Magic and Miracles LifeFlight Ball presented by International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC).

“Toowoomba is our busiest base; 650 missions last year and events like this help keep our choppers ready to respond,” LifeFlight Australia Chairman, Hon. Rob Borbidge AO, said.

More than 600 people poured into Rumours International Convention Centre to show their support for the lifesaving aeromedical service.

“LifeFlight provides an enormous service to the people of the greater Toowoomba region and indeed south east Queensland,” Mr Borbidge said.

Among the crowd was past patient Mikaela Holzheimer who was rescued by LifeFlight in May 2019.

The then pregnant Mikaela and her now husband had stopped to help at a car crash when one of the crashed cars unexpectedly restarted and crashed into the expectant mother.

“I was 27 weeks pregnant with our little girl so it was pretty scary,” Mikaela said.

“At the time I couldn’t feel my legs and they couldn’t find my baby’s heartbeat.”

Mikaela was flown to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital where she spent some time in ICU and had to undergo a lower leg reconstruction.

“If it wasn’t for LifeFlight I probably wouldn’t have my legs today and I wouldn’t have my daughter.”

The 2021 event raised more than $420,000, a record for a LifeFlight ball.

Some $20,000 of that was raised in just 7 minutes during the Ryley Jewellery Creations balloon pop.

The generous crowd was also encouraged to give big during live auctions after hearing from past patient Tim Smith, who was critically injured three days before his wedding in 2019.

RACQ LifeFlight Rescue pilot David Hampshire said it was an amazing feeling to meet people who had been airlifted by the service.

“You never ever wake up in the morning and have your breakfast and think you’re going to be a patient, in the back of our helicopter, in the afternoon,” he said.

“To see them walk in to an event like this healthy and smiling is just great.”

The event was the first time Toowoomba’s RACQ LifeFlight Rescue supporters were able to come together since 2019 after last year’s gala was cancelled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ball is one of the organisation’s biggest fundraisers of the year.

“LifeFlight provides a valuable service to the community,” Kenneth Ledger of IADC said.

“It’s an incredible service and they help people anywhere, anytime.”

Magician Cosentino travelled to Toowoomba to bring magic to the event.

Each year, Toowoomba ball attendees participate in a financial pledge to raise money for training or new equipment for the local RACQ LifeFlight Rescue crews.

On Saturday night guests pledged an astonishing $125,000 to go toward new specialised night vision goggles.

In its 42-year history, RACQ LifeFlight Rescue has come to the aid of more than 60,000 people.

Each critical mission is valued at more than $25,000 but comes at no cost to the patient.

“We’re funded to 70% so we look for about 30% of community donations to keep our service in the air,” Mr Hampshire said.

In 2020, Toowoomba RACQ LifeFlight Rescue crews flew 650 missions at a cost of $16.2 million.