Whilst Jane made her way to hospital on the big chopper, I arrived back on Hamilton Island with Aaron. The team at Hamilton Air had waited for us to get back and we agreed with Dan, the owner, that Aaron would fly me the next morning to Mackay. Aaron was fantastic, keeping in touch with the team at Reefworld and letting me know via WhatsApp when Jane got picked up and how she was doing.
He then agreed that if I packed all of our bags, he’d come and collect them later in the evening so that I could take them all with me in the morning. I rushed around the apartment trying to get it all done and sure enough he arrived in a golf buggy and took the majority of it away. I gave him a harvest festival box of all the things that we’d bought at the IGA supermarket as we wouldn’t be needing any of that now as we would not be returning. He continued to be my contact point with the hospital in Mackay once Jane had arrived and it was a huge relief to know that she was now in the hands of the Emergency Team there. At 9pm I got a text from Jane to let me know she was doing much better and that I should get some sleep!
This didn’t really happen as although I was totally shattered I couldn’t get the air con in the bedroom to work and it was stiffling. Ah well.
The next morning I was up early and had to walk down the road with my remaining bags to get my lift to the heliport. Aaron was ready and waiting for me and off we flew to Mackay. It was a beautiful morning but all I wanted to do was get back to Jane.
At the Mackay Airport , Aaron helped me get all the bags out and ordered me a taxi and we said our farewells, me giving him a huge hug of thanks.
Luckily, the taxi never came and I ended up dragging my bags over to the Ibis Hotel where I have been staying for the last 12 nights! Initially I think Jane thought she’d be out after a day but this turned out not to be the case! The first person I met at the Ibis was Becs on reception, who looked wide-eyed at me when I explained my predicament. She booked me in for one night and then got me a cab to take me to the hospital.
The local cab firm is 13Cabs and my first driver was Sean. More about him and the other drivers later but for now let’s get back to Jane. It took about 15 mins to get to the hospital and I was pointed in the direction of the Emergency Department. Here I found Jane in a partitioned area, hooked up to all sorts of machinery, drips and still on oxygen. She was already SO much better than she had been when I’d last seen her and quite alert and planning her escape. It was quite a relief.
Then in came the team of Doctors who were looking after Jane. There must have been about 8 of them and then it was all a bit much.
So, I’m going to cut a long story short now and what I really wanted to say was how utterly amazing everyone that I have met and who has looked after Jane, has been. I’d never heard of Mackay, Queensland before we arrived here and it certainly wasn’t on our itinerary to visit. However, I have to say that I have fallen in love with this place, a city of just 121,691 people , 972km north of Brisbane. Surrounded by sugar cane fields, it is now a service centre of the mining industry of the Bowen Basin. So here are some of those I wish to thank.
The Staff and residents at the Ibis Hotel- after 12 nights here I’ve got to know lots of the staff who have looked after me so well. Becs, Svetlana, Kushall and others on reception dealing with my constant requests to extend my stay. Katie and all the team in the restaurant and bar where the food has been fantastic and varied, the McLaren Vale Shiraz – perfect and where they’ve introduced me to my new favourite pudding. Cardamom Spiced Coconut Custard Sri Lankan Watalappan. Made with coconut milk, jaggery, nutmeg, cashew crumble and served with fresh fruits. Delicious.
Meanwhile, the residents have been endlessly fascinating. Lots of miners coming and going as they start and end their 7 day shifts, First Nations Ladies having a business meeting and talking about getting the Elders on their side, weekend golfers, holiday makers and all-night clubbers. Early on I was asked by one couple who I’d said hello to in the lift whether I wanted to join them for dinner, as I was on my own. I politely declined and they were absolutely lovely about it. Then on about Weds I met Robert Todd ‘Toddy’ to his friends. He sat next to me at dinner (I mostly sat at Table 18 underneath the TV) and I warned him that someone else sitting at his table had just smashed a glass by nudging the table when he got up. We got chatting and it turned out he was originally from Cornwall. He’d spent 20 years in New Zealand before he and his partner, Lisa-Marie, and his kids moved to Hervey Bay 7 years ago. He was in business to business sales and we spent the evening chatting about everything from his own experiences of ill health (heart attack), the Australian economy, and Toddy’s Top 3 tips for sales success! He was funny, kind, self- deprecating and swore like a true Aussie and it was just nice to find out a little bit about where I was staying.
The taxi drivers of 13Cabs have picked me up from the Ibis, taken me to and from the hospital everyday. Sean was the first driver to pick me up and in fact he took me home on the first day too. I thought maybe Sean was their only driver but this wasn’t the case. I also met John, Mr Singh, Tao from Zimbabwe, Varindar and several others. All were kind and chatted to me about my day. Sean would wave to me every time I saw him and make a point of stopping to ask how Jane was doing.
The team at CQ Rescue helicopters. This is the organisation who sent the helicopter to rescue Jane. There base is right here on the airport and I could see the helicopters coming and going from my bedroom window. One afternoon after getting back a bit early I decided to take a wander over to see if I could go in and thank them. There was no obvious way in so I asked a chap in the car park where the door was. He asked who I was there to see and I started to explain the story. It turned out he was the CEO of CQ Rescue and he invited me in to show me around. He told me that they’re kind of a charity with sponsors and help from the Queensland Government. He said that they’d invested in 2 new AW139 Helicopters , one of which had rescued Jane. These choppers went 30% further and 30% faster than their old ones providing a World Class Rescue service. He said that without this new helicopter, they would not have able to get out to where Jane was rescued from. The two choppers had cost AUS $ 52 million. Unfortunately, there was no crew around when I visited , they were all out on another rescue at the mines. Thank goodness for the brave and clever people who stay away from home to provide this service on 7 day shifts and thank goodness for all the fund raisers who made the purchase of the new choppers happen.
Next I want to thank all of the staff at the Mackay Base Hospital where Jane was taken and looked after so so well. The Emergency Team were brilliant and thorough. One of them just had an inkling that it might not have been asthma and got the cardio doctor to look at Jane. The nurses on Emergency were full of energy and cheerful. Whilst we were there we saw how they had to deal with some really difficult patients, including one guy with mental health problems and issues with ‘the system’. He kept kicking off because they wouldn’t let him go outside for a cigarette. It took 2 security guards and 4 policemen to restrain him.
The Nurses, Cleaners, Wardies and catering team on Jane’s Ward, G2 were superb. Jasmine was Jane’s nurse for 6 days running. She was smart, funny, helpful, kind and totally on top of Jane’s situation. She was my favourite. We also loved Jenny the cleaner who came every day to do such a thorough job of cleaning Jane’s room. (Yes, she had her own en suite). She was lovely and helpful especially when my mobile phone went missing when I’d been helping Jane have a shower. I couldn’t find it anywhere but she said ‘I’ll just check Michael’s room’……Michael was one of Jane’s neighbours. He had dementia and kept forgetting where his room was and coming into Jane’s . Sure enough , he was sitting on the balcony with my phone in his hand listening to it ring out with ‘Find My Phone’. Thank you Jenny!
The catering team meanwhile fed and watered Jane and she was particularly fond of their puddings – pineapple upside down cake and custard, Bread and Butter pudding and Apple Crumble and Custard. Meanwhile I enjoyed my choice of very unhealthy lunches from the cafe downstairs or Docs Place across the road where the ladies made the most tasty plain old cheese and onion sandwich.
Finally, I want to thank the Cardio Team at the marvelous Mackay Base Hospital. From the young Doctor who first suspected that Jane had experienced Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy to her consultant Mr Sachin Sondhi. The team made sure she received all of the help and meds she needed and were tireless in their efforts to get a complete diagnosis and left no stone unturned. Jane had X-rays, blood tests , ECGs, Echocardiograms and MRI scans to rule out blocked arteries and other problems. The big thing I noticed about this team was the way they all took real time to listen to Jane. They never interrupted but they listened and then weren’t afraid to offer opposing viewpoints to the Consultant, alternative approaches etc.
All of this care was provided under a reciprocal agreement between Australia and the UK, whereby treatment provided in a public hospital has been provided free of charge. All we needed to do was apply for a Medicare card and they were even (mostly) incredibly helpful whilst we did this. Another thing I’ve noticed here is that people take your word for things. They don’t ask for proof, or question you. They trust you and do the right thing.
So as Jane has now made a good enough recovery to be released from hospital and to continue onward travel, we are incredibly grateful to everyone in Mackay. Jane always told me that I’d love the Aussie’s and we are just so lucky that this happened here. Mackay ❤️❤️❤️
Where shall we go to next? 