Going the distance
Feb 2025
Flying Doctor Remote Specialist enables country Victorians to access specialist medical care by phone or video-link in their own communities. As you will read, instead of having to make a 12-hour round trip to Melbourne, Mildura-based grandmother, Sally can attend an online consultation with her respiratory specialist, Dr Fogarty, from her hometown.
With your support, a profoundly important and often life-saving difference will be made in the lives of people who would otherwise be left without access to the vital medical care they need and deserve.
Flying Doctor Remote Specialist
Thanks to support like yours, Flying Doctor Remote Specialist is free of charge for people living in rural communities across Victoria, giving them access by phone or video-link to the medical specialists they need offer.
One of those who has benefitted from the service is Sally, who lives in Mildura. After struggling with debilitating shortness of breath, Sally was eventually diagnosed with a chronic lung disease known as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). As she explains, “I remember coming home from work one day and my son and my husband were there. I could hardly breathe and I didn’t know why. I just burst into tears.” Sally continues, “I want to grow old and see my grandchildren grow up. That’s when I realised I needed help.” After visiting her local community health service, Sally was referred to Dr Fogarty, a respiratory specialist based in Melbourne. Over the past three years, Sally has had regular consultations with Dr Fogarty via video-link, often during her lunch break at work in Mildura. Having such a convenient health service available means the world to her.
I don’t have to take time off work,” says Sally. “I don’t have to travel six hours up to Melbourne and six hours back. If my appointment is at one o’clock, he sees you at one o’clock, which is awesome.”
As well as helping Sally manage her COPD, Dr Forgarty identified the additional complication of asthma after she explained how cold or windy weather affected her breathing. “He’s given me breathing exercises and helped me use my lungs to the best I can. He’s helped me immensely.”
Recently, Sally received a further blow after being diagnosed with a serious melanoma, and a further scan revealed a concern in her left lung. Once again, Dr Fogarty has been there to support her. “I’ve had melanoma removed, and it’s quite serious. I was really worried about my lung capacity, and if it gets shorter, how do I cope with that? And he said, ‘Sally, if that happens, we will be with you every step of the way’. He just put my mind at ease.” With three medical challenges to deal with, it’s easy to see just how important Flying Doctor Remote Specialist is. As she says herself: “It’s an awesome service that’s probably saved my life.”
Thank you for making this service available to even more rural Victorians through your wonderful support.
Another wonderful
Memory Lane journey made by you
Thanks to your amazing support, Flying Doctor Memory Lane helps Victorians in end-of-life care visit a place of personal significance to them, one last time. It could be to take in a favourite ocean view, or to visit the street where they grew up. For John, it was a final trip to watch his favourite footy team.
You may recall reading John and Janmaree’s moving story in our recent Christmas Appeal and we would like to say a huge thank you to all of you who kindly donated to this special Appeal. Together you raised an amazing $258,981 to help us extend this service to even more Victorians in the future. Just 48 hours before John passed peacefully, he got to experience his final wish with Flying Doctor Memory Lane – watching his beloved Narre Warren Magpies footy team, surrounded by loved ones and friends.
Treasured memories
When Memory Lane volunteers, Harry and Jaimee, arrived at John’s home that morning, John immediately sat up in bed, which is something he hadn’t done for weeks. His unexpected burst of energy shows how much joy this wonderful service can bring to someone in their final days. The fact is, John simply couldn’t wait to get to the game that day – and support like yours made that wish possible for him. “John’s last day was such an incredibly profound experience,” says Janmaree. “And John got his simple and special wish… fish and chips at the local football club watching his Narre Warren Magpies team get across the line and win, surrounded by family, friends and loved ones. What a day! And the care we received from the Memory Lane team will stay with us forever.”
100% made possible by you
The Flying Doctor Memory Lane service, from our custom-built transport vehicles to training and support for volunteers like Harry and Jaimee, is entirely funded by amazing Flying Doctor supporters like you. Our expertise in patient transport enables us to provide this unique and meaningful service, yet we couldn’t do it without you.
Thank you for the golden memories you made possible for John and Janmaree’s family. And please know that any extra donation you make today, will help us to extend the Flying Doctor Memory Lane service to even more Victorians. Thank you so much!
Help kids like Paige find their voice
Flying Doctor Speech Therapy is making such a difference to children growing up in rural communities, but we can only provide this vital service with support like yours.
Learning to speak is a critical life skill, but unfortunately some children have delays with their speech and language development – and this can create problems in their ability to communicate, learn from others, develop and form friendships.
Early intervention is vital for children who are struggling with their speech, to stop them falling further behind. But it can be extremely challenging for families living in rural Victoria to access the support their children need.
The difference you make
Thanks to support like yours, RFDS Victoria is working with local health services to provide children aged 0-12 years with easy access to free and local speech therapy services.
A year ago, Paige was a frustrated 3-year-old, struggling to communicate and express herself. Since then, she has been receiving Flying Doctor Speech Therapy every fortnight in her neighbouring town of Inglewood.