Angel Flight help elderly Greenvale resident get to medical care

On Thursday 7th November 2024, 89-year-old Judith McKenzie from Greenvale, Queensland, took her very first Angel Flight to Townsville.  Judith has lived in Greenvale for 24 years, moving from the hustle and bustle of Sydney, with her aviator husband, to ‘greener pastures’. Judith says she “loves country life, the clean air and the lack of traffic.”

Rural life certainly comes with its advantages, but convenient access to medical care is not one of them. This was brought to life when recent medical concerns arose for Judith and medical imaging in Townsville was prescribed. With prior knowledge of Angel Flight’s free flight and drive service, Dr Katie Williamson from Royal Flying Doctors referred Judith.

Rodney Battle, one of Angel Flight’s great North Queensland pilots, was quick to respond to the call for help. The angel of North Queensland skies flew in from his hometown of Townsville to Greenvale in his red Beechcraft Bonaza, to collect Judith for her appointment. One hour later the plane landed in Townsville airport where his wife, Karen Battle greeted Judith with a smile and the car engine running, ready to safely drive her to her appointment. Just a few hours later, the dynamic duo performed the same personalised and efficient process in reverse, with Judith landing back in Greenvale at 2:15pm.

“It was wonderful to turn such a long trip by road into such a short process. I left the house at 9:15 and was back by 2:15pm.”

“My Angel Flight with Rodney was marvelous, and I absolutely loved it. I was collected at the airport by Karen who is a darling and it was so good to have someone to take me directly to my appointment.”

While it sounds like a simple process, there is a team of logistics experts at Angel Flight headquarters in Brisbane who spend their days making sure our volunteers and passengers get from A to B without a hitch.

Angel Flight has 3500 pilots across the country who use their passion for flying to make a difference to rural people in need. These pilots donate their time, expertise and aircraft to the cause, accepting reimbursement from Angel Flight for the aviation fuel cost for each mission.

Additionally, Angel Flight has 4000 qualified and accredited volunteer drivers, known as Earth Angels, who kindly donate their time and vehicle to alleviate the great stress felt by many rural people who arrive in a busy city and need to navigate their way to medical appointments.

Since the inception of the charity in 2003, Angel Flight has helped over 100,000 rural people in need through its free flight and drive service without any support from the government. 

Health professionals who have a good knowledge of the patient’s medical condition are the only people who can submit a flight request to Angel Flight. Health Professionals wishing to refer should register at the website https://www.angelflight.org.au/request-flight/