On a night when they should have been preparing for the Easter bunny, Ben and Felicity Bucknell were instead preparing for the emergency arrival of their first child, Charlie.
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At just 32 weeks pregnant, Felicity thought she still had eight weeks before her little boy entered the world, but Charlie had other plans.
"As it was so far before his due date, we thought Felicity was just experiencing Braxton Hicks but thought it was best to go to the local hospital just to make sure everything was okay," Charlie's dad, Ben said.
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This decision quite possibly saved Charlie's life in April. On arrival at Crookwell Hospital, it was clear Charlie was in distress and would need a lot of extra support when he was born.
In a matter of hours, Crookwell Hospital, which doesn't have a maternity unit, had called in all forces to help with Charlie's delivery.
This included their clinical nurse educator, Donna Skelly, who came in while on annual leave, obstetrician, Dr Ramaswamy Thangavelu, who came out of retirement after 45 years of service, and the Newborn and paediatric Emergency Transport Service (NETS), which activated NETS teams from both Sydney and Canberra with the Sydney team reaching Crookwell faster.
NETS also coordinated paramedics, a paediatrician and midwife from travelling from Goulburn with a 'Good Egg Pack' infant resuscitation pack. These good egg packs are situated in similar hospitals across the state to help in situations exactly like Charlie's.
Charlie was born needing immediate intubation to support his breathing, and required surfactant, a surface active agent, applied to his lungs so they functioned properly.
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The NETS team then spent several hours stabilising Charlie before he was able to be transferred via helicopter to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, for further specialist care.
"Even when there was fog closing in, they found a safe place to lift off so Charlie could get the help he needed as soon as possible."
"I doubt Charlie would have lived if he hadn't had the specialist expertise and equipment of the NETS team."
Ben also pays tribute to the team on the ground, particularly Dr Thangavelu (affectionately known as Dr Velu) who, as fate would have it, also delivered Charlie's mum, Felicity, and his aunts, 40 years ago.
"As for Dr Thangavelu, he is an inspiration. At 87 years old, to come out of retirement and to work past 4am to see Charlie's mum was recovering well is something I'll never forget," Ben said.
"He epitomises the essential contribution that people continue to bring to rural communities."
Charlie spent four weeks in hospital but is now back home and thriving.
His dad can't wait to show off his progress and re-introduce Charlie to the angels who, not only helped deliver him, but worked hard to save his life.
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