Donna was waiting for a miracle – then the Royal Flying Doctor Service arrived
Donna Synnerdahl still remembers the moment she hit the mine shaft floor. It’s this sensation of falling and her memories of the jolting pain that has kept her up at night — for 14 years.
She still remembers the moment she hit the mine shaft floor. It’s this sensation of falling and her memories of the jolting pain that keeps Donna Synnerdahl up at night.
It’s been 14 years since Lightning Ridge woman Donna Synnerdahl fell down a 20m
mine shaft and spent four days waiting for help.
That’s 14 years of finger-curling arthritis, gnawing pain and demons in her head — 14 years without medical help.
It’s what happens when you live in the isolated town of Grawin, where the only electricity comes from solar panels, water comes from a hole in the ground, and the closest hospital is four hours away.
This town with no reception, a single phone booth, and opals that wash up on the side of the road after rain is charming in its isolation. Until it’s not.
When something goes wrong, as it does with Donna, there is no one to help. At least that is what she always thought.
This week, Donna Synnerdahl had her eureka moment. She didn’t find opal. She found help in the form of the Royal Flying Doctors service.
Once a week, the vital service travels to the isolated town, where residents are provided with a free medical clinic. There’s a GP, a nurse, and a friendly smile.
“Grawin is located in a really isolated area. Without RFDS, they would be travelling upwards of 300km just to see a GP. There, unfortunately limited services and even when they do access these services, they are not with a regular GP. They are having to repeat their story to multiple practitioners over multiple occasions,” said Primary Care Nurse Abbey Barrett.
In the last four years, the Royal Flying Doctors service south eastern section has helped more than 300,000 people, including more than 27,000 GP consultations.
If not for the service, these people would go years without seeing a doctor.
People would be like Donna, who had no idea the service existed until by chance, we stumbled upon her.
When we tell her about the service, tears fill her eyes. She tells us about the incident, and we ask if she’s had any help.
“I have no one. I just need help. I live alone. It’s pretty sad out here. There are not many women out here and even the men, we don’t get any help.
“I have no teeth – I have three teeth. Every day my whole body, every day is hurting.”
Abbey introduces herself to Donna and for the first time since we have met her, there’s light in Donna’s eyes.
She promises Donna an appointment when they are back in a few days. For the first time in a long time, Donna has hope.
It’s a similar hope that is being felt across town in the clinic centre. The RFDS has just pulled in, and the town is climbing from their mineshafts, slipping out of the pub and already flocking to the centre.
They pull up in their red mud-streaked cars, many of which are unregistered, and pile out. Boris, the town larrikin who insists on only using his first name so the “cops don’t catch him”, hands Abby a pile of fresh mandarins, and trots in to see the doctor.
Resident Jules, 56, explains that the RDFS gives people a chance.
“People will actually maintain their health out here. This is one big family, and we also keep an eye on each other. They are good doctors, great doctors. We’ve been getting just wonderful people.
“You got a chance out here, You know they’re gonna come, you know you’re gonna be right,” she said.
These are people who don’t normally open up to strangers, but today they do. This town will do anything for the RFDS.
They line up to tell their stories, and Lesley Baker, a Grawin resident since 1980, tells us how the clinic has saved lives.
“There were no doctors. I think there was one in Lightning Ridge, and you would have to wait three weeks.”
They are the best medical service we have ever had,” she says. She tells the story one 80-year-old local who was saved after the clinic picked up he had pancreatic cancer.
“Without this doctor clinic, I am quite sure that man wouldn’t be with us today. It’s saving lives,” she said.
However the RFDS is the one needing help, says Greg Sam, CEO of Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern Section.
“The cost of delivering healthcare has been going up for many years, putting pressure on the Royal Flying Doctor Service to do more with less. As a result, we’ve been increasingly relying on the generosity of our donors and supporters to keep many of our vital health services going,” he said.
While we’re grateful for this critical donor support, our increasing reliance on philanthropy comes with an element of uncertainty around whether that support will be there year on year,” he said.
For Abbey, the purpose of the clinic is simple.
“The more we do to manage these communities, reduces the amount of retrevials that we need to do,” she said.
It’s a job that fills the young woman with immense pride. It’s a pride and genuine love of the job that shines through when she hugs Donna close to her and promises to help her.
“I want to help you out. We are going to work together and put together a plan and get you looked after,” she says.
There’s a new sound that will play in Donna’s mind tonight. The sound of helping coming.
Got a news tip? Email emily.kowal@news.com.au
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Originally published as Donna was waiting for a miracle – then the Royal Flying Doctor Service arrived
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