It should have been the happiest day, but it turned into a nightmare.
Shane and Jemma arrived at Gladstone Hospital for the birth of their second child. Would it be a boy or a girl? They couldn’t wait to find out. But Jemma knew something was wrong the moment Zac was put on her chest.
“He was limp and grey,” she remembers. “I was begging him to make some noise. I kept saying, ‘Cry for Mummy, cry for Mummy’.”
But Zac couldn’t cry. He couldn’t breathe. A big baby, he lacked surfactants—a lubricant that keeps the airways open—and he was in terrible danger.
Exhausted and in pain, Jemma was terrified to see Zac rushed to the resuscitation table. Then she started haemorrhaging.
Both Zac and Jemma needed us. We had to get them to Brisbane fast, which we were able to do with the help of Queensland Health’s NeoRESQ team.
With your support, The Royal Flying Doctor Service can continue to care for emergency patients like Zac and Jemma.
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Struggling to breathe
Zac was nine pounds, five ounces — more than 4 kilos — but he was struggling to breathe, time was critical.
Airlifted separately
Zac & Jemma had to be airlifted separately for specialist treatment. They were reunited in Brisbane.
Save lives like Zac’s
With your support, we can continue to save lives like Jemma’s baby Zac across remote Queensland.
Charity donations of $2 or more to the Royal Flying Doctor Service may be tax deductible in Australia.
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