With over 1,300 patients a year using our ‘flying intensive care unit’, we need your help.

Blaire was a just baby when she flew with the service – TWICE!

Blaire, who has Noonan Syndrome, had been healthy since she’d come home from hospital, but as soon as she got a runny nose, I had a feeling RSV had caught up with us,” Mum Lyndal says.

It was 3 am on a Tuesday morning when Blaire went downhill.

“Our tiny girl was working far too hard just to breathe. They put her on oxygen and wanted to get her to Christchurch Hospital as soon as possible. That’s when the NZ Flying Doctor Service was called.”

Blaire spent two nights in Christchurch Hospital before being discharged, with the family driving back to Westport.

But they’d be seeing the NZ Flying Doctor crew again soon.

“We got home on a Thursday and on Friday I was back at the doctor in Westport. People thought she was fine, but I just had a feeling – call it mother’s intuition. She wasn’t eating or drinking and so I wasn’t surprised that we ended up back at Greymouth Hospital by Saturday afternoon.”

“Before we knew it, the wonderful NZ Flying Doctor team was back again, loading us gently on board for another flight to Christchurch so Blaire could get the high level of care she desperately needed.”

After three days in Christchurch Hospital, the family was discharged. This time Lyndal was confident Blaire was well enough to go home and be reunited with her two big brothers, aged two and five.

Our most urgent priority is to support our most vulnerable. The children who need our help. The children who need your help.

The New Zealand Flying Doctors are only partly government funded. And it is only with the kindness and generosity of the community that we can continue to deliver this life-saving service. With mission numbers increasing each year, the need is greater than ever before.

Today we are asking you to support missions for neonatal and paediatric patients. With over 70 missions a year for children under 15 years of age, we are focused on getting each and every one of them the right medical care.

Your contribution will help save the lives of children like Rita.

When you donate, it will be put into use straight away. We will get at least one call this week about a child that needs our help.

We are not saving up for a rainy day, we need help today, tomorrow, and the day after. So please donate now.

As Dr David Bowie, Chair of the New Zealand Flying Doctor Trust, states, “Community support keeps this vital service flying, saving the lives of thousands of New Zealanders in their time of extreme need.”

Please donate today so we can be there for the most vulnerable, babies like Blaire, so they can go on and live their lives to the full. We need your help to continue to fly these essential lifesaving missions.

On behalf of patients like Blaire and her family — patients who will directly benefit from your support — thank you for

HELPING SAVE LIVES EVERYDAY