Teenager's bright idea to assist sick patients

The high school student plans to deliver medication from pharmacies to homes on an electric bike and expand to transporting patients to medical appointments.

AMBITIOUS: Teenager Braydon McAuley is developing a pharmaceutical courier service called MovingMeds. Picture: Rob Williams

BRAYDON McAuley is a young man with a big vision, inspired by the loss of a great man taken far too soon.

The 14-year-old is in the early stages of developing his business MovingMeds, a pharmaceutical courier service.

He was inspired to start the business by his grandfather Vernon, who passed away at Christmas after he was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2016.

The Springfield Central State High School student plans to deliver medication from pharmacies to homes on an electric bike and expand to transporting patients to and from medical appointments once he has a driver's licence.

Braydon wants to provide a service for people no longer able to travel themselves, having experienced first-hand the debilitating impact of some serious medical conditions.

As part of efforts to secure funding to launch the business, Braydon is one of six young national finalists who will pitch their ideas to a panel of judges in the 2019 Future Anything grand final via a "shark tank" presentation next week.

He was selected out of more than 2000 students across the country and now at the final hurdle, $10,000-plus is up grabs for the winner.

Money will go towards securing an electric bike, a protective rack box for transporting medicine and developing an app.

Vernon Nuske.

Braydon plans to donate 20 per cent of profits he makes from his venture to the Leukaemia Foundation.

"(The foundation) holds a special place in my heart," he said.

"They helped me and my family and pop during his diagnosis. I would love to give back to them and also help a lot of other people.

"He was a hard worker. He worked in construction all of his life. We like to relate him to the kookaburra. In the hospital he passed away in, there was a kookaburra photo on the wall. The night after he passed away, all the way until 2am the kookaburras were laughing. At his funeral there were kookaburras laughing outside as well. He was a joker as well. We like to think he's trying to connect with us through the kookaburras' laughter."

Mum Alysha Nuske said Braydon had received plenty of support from his local community, including the backing of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

"I'm really proud of him how courageous he's been... I couldn't have done that at his age," she said. "(Vernon) was a big part of Braydon's life. He was one of the main role models that he had since he was small.

"I think in the last year especially I've seen a lot of drive. He has always had that caring sort of nature about him and he was really close to my dad, so it's nice to see something so positive has come from what happened.

"He wants to be the best at whatever he does."

Visit the MovingMeds Facebook page for more information.

Originally published as Teenager's bright idea to assist sick patients