From headache to hospital: bringing Rachael home after life-saving surgery

From headache to hospital: bringing Rachael home after life-saving surgery

It started as a headache but within days Rachael Foley was having brain surgery in another city.

It started as a headache but within days Rachael Foley was having brain surgery in another city.

It was a scary, anxious time – but coming home on the New Zealand Flying Doctor Service brought a sense of relief.

“The nurse who was with me was so, so lovely. It had been such a scary ordeal but all of the team – from the ambulance staff who took me to the airport to the crew on the plane – they were so understanding and empathetic. I will never forget that,” Rachael says.

Rachael and her family live in Koromiko, a small settlement 10 minutes south of Picton. She was at home one day in 2024 when she suddenly felt an intense pain.

“It was like I’d been hit on the head with a shovel. I’ve never felt anything like it before,” Rachael says.

Rachael had bumped her head a few days prior so, after speaking with her doctor, it was thought she had a mild concussion.

But the pain didn’t go away.

“A few days later I kept waking up in the middle of the night with really terrible headaches. I went back to the doctor and mentioned I was a bit worried as my mother died of an aneurysm. The doctor immediately said ‘What?’ and sent me straight for tests.”

A CT scan confirmed a substantial aneurysm in Rachael’s brain.

An aneurysm is an abnormal, balloon-like bulge in the wall of an artery.

“It was scary hearing that. Both my mum and my mother-in-law died from an aneurysm – I knew how serious it was.”

Rachael was immediately flown to Wellington where a neurosurgeon coiled the aneurysm.

An aneurysm coil is a tiny, soft platinum wire deployed inside a brain aneurysm to block blood flow and prevent it from rupturing. The coil was inserted via a catheter threaded from Rachael’s wrist.

“It was such an emotional time. The neurosurgeon said I was heading for a stroke or a complete rupture which would have killed me.”

Rachael’s husband and daughter, who had flown to Wellington to be with her, returned home after the surgery. The next day, Rachael was flown home on the New Zealand Flying Doctor plane.

“I had no idea about the New Zealand Flying Doctor Service until I needed it, but it was such a blessing.”

Rachael says the health system really stepped up for her and her family.

“It was such an anxious time and so emotional. Having caring, supportive people looking after you feels amazing, and that’s certainly how the New Zealand Flying Doctor crew made me feel. I can’t thank them enough.”