Survival starts on the ground, and when help can be hours away, it’s often the knowledge of those who are already on the scene that saves lives before a LifeFlight helicopter arrives. That’s why our doctors and rescue crews were inspired to make First Minutes Matter, a free emergency trauma training program.
A donation today, not only supports our crews in saving lives but will also help us expand our First Minutes Matter trauma training program to equip more Queenslanders to be ready when minutes matter.
Your support will ensure that more people in your community have the skills and confidence to act in those critical first minutes of an emergency, when professional help is still on the way.
Will you join us with a donation today?
“Even though I was really sick, I knew that all the right things had been done even before LifeFlight arrived. If we had waited, it would have been a different outcome for me.”
– Kasey Leadbetter
21-year-old Kasey Leadbetter was sleeping soundly when she suddenly woke up with a start and a searing pain in her hand. Kasey had been bitten by eastern brown snake and knew she didn’t have a lot of time.
Lucky, the family Kasey worked for as a live-in nanny knew exactly what to do. Their quick thinking and proper first response wasn’t just lucky – it was the result of knowledge passed down through their community.
Kasey was quickly picked up by our LifeFlight helicopter and rushed to the nearest hospital. Critical care doctor Richard Pellatt explained it was the family’s swift actions that kept Kasey stable until help arrived and quite literally, saved her life.
Kasey made a full recovery and is incredibly grateful to be alive to tell her story, thanks to LifeFlight – and to the knowledge of those around her.
First Minutes Matter relies on funding from corporations, grants, and individual donations from generous people like you.
Here are some examples of how your gift today could help:
“I didn’t have a clue about LifeFlight until I needed them.”
– Zach Nightingale
When Zach came off his motorcycle in December 2017, it was the quick thinking of two bystanders that saved his life. Zach’s right leg was amputated at the scene when he fell from his motorcycle and he began to lose blood fast. Two strangers, April and John, saw his accident and pulled over to help. Guided over the phone by Triple Zero operators, they worked together to compress his wound in an attempt to slow the bleeding until LifeFlight arrived.
When the LifeFlight medical team arrived, they knew that it was the quick actions of April and John that saved Zach’s life. Zach was airlifted for life-saving surgery and went on to spend 100 days in hospital, enduring 17 more operations.
Today, Zach is thriving — working at Toowoomba Hospital, volunteering, and speaking publicly about road safety and trauma awareness. Most importantly, he’s a passionate advocate for learning emergency skills through programs like First Minutes Matter.
Zach’s story is proof that what happens in the first minutes of an emergency can mean the difference between life and death. Your gift today will help us expand First Minutes Matter training, so more Queenslanders know how to act with confidence until our crews arrive.
The First Minutes Matter – and so do you. Donate now and invest in your community to have the knowledge to help save a life when minutes matter.
Even if you are unable to make a donation, we hope you will take a moment to sign up for a First Minutes Matter workshop today. What you learn could save someone you love.
*All donations over $2 are tax-deductible. At the LifeFlight Foundation (ABN: 63 618 170 184), we use Payments2Us and Ezidebit so your donations are secure. If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch.
We acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traditional Custodians of the land on which we serve and fly, and pay respect to their Elders past, present and future.
