Cooper Pressler-McHugh was only 10 weeks old when he needed specialised medical care more than 350 kilometres from home.
Last November, Cooper and his parents Demi Pressler-McHugh and Sean Cars were in a car accident near Kalkie and the family were transported to Bundaberg Hospital.
A few days later Cooper was discharged to his aunt Emma, Demi’s twin sister, while his mum and dad recovered in hospital.
Everything appeared fine until Cooper started having seizures.
Demi said to her sister that something wasn’t right.
“He became unresponsive and was looked over at the Bundaberg Hospital emergency department. They made the decision that he needed to go to Brisbane,” she said.
Cooper had swelling in his brain and required urgent transport to Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH).
The LifeFlight Brisbane-based aeromedical crew picked up Children’s Health Queensland Retrieval Service (CHQRS) pediatric doctor Arya James and nurse Katie Allen before flying to Bundaberg.
Due to her injuries, Demi couldn’t go with her son and was still recovering in hospital.
“I ended up having two broken legs and spent 36 days in hospital, so my sister Emma went,” Demi said.
“My husband was also in an induced coma in ICU due to his injuries.”
Dr James said it was immediately clear that Cooper needed intensive care.
“It really hit hard when I saw his mum next to him, still recuperating from her injuries. She was so incredibly brave, holding his little fingers and taking a picture of him while they were lying in hospital beds next to each other,” Dr James said.
“We secured his airway before we got him back to Brisbane in the helicopter and Cooper was very stable on the evening flight.
“Cooper’s aunt made the trip back with us in the ‘helo’, and she was an absolute champ.”
During the flight to Brisbane, Emma noticed how much care was shown by the crew.
In the loud aircraft cabin, the crew used their phones to type messages to her and answer any questions she had.
The medical team also updated Emma on Cooper’s condition.
“We made sure to keep her supported during the journey,” nurse Allen said.
“I understood how important it was to not only care for Cooper medically, but to also provide emotional reassurance for his family during such a distressing time.”
After four days at QCH, Emma and her husband drove Cooper back to Bundaberg.
A year later, Cooper is thriving but needs ongoing treatment due to complications from his brain injury.
“The swelling on his brain did resolve but he has a pituitary stalk injury which is lifelong,” Demi said.
“He’ll be on medication for the rest of his life but he’s okay, and without LifeFlight he probably wouldn’t be here.”
To thank the LifeFlight crews, Demi and Emma’s family business McHugh Steel recently chose LifeFlight as the charity beneficiary of the Bundaberg Rugby League Past Players and Supporters Association golf fundraising event – raising $10,000.
“We chose LifeFlight purely because of Cooper,” Demi said.
The funds will go towards supporting LifeFlight’s work in the Wide Bay-Burnett region and bey
