no running water or electricity, but now women can give
birth there safely. It was as though Derani had been moving
towards her role at RFDS all along.
“Foxtrot X-Ray Whisky, we have doors shut at 10:50.”
We’re off to Wyalla to pick up Elsie Phillis. She’s 96 and
needs a lift home to Wudinna after a hip replacement. It’s
very blowy as she is wheeled onto the tarmac on a stretcher,
but Elsie is clutching her handbag and couldn’t be happier
to be heading home. “She reminds me of my grandma,” says
Derani as Elsie smiles up at her with blue, blue eyes. At
Wudinna, Elsie recognises one of the volunteer ambos: “I
know you! You were at school with my daughter.” She’s home.
In the nine years Derani has been with the RFDS, she
has married her husband, Adam, and had two babies,
Mason, now ive, and Jett, two.
She has also had a medical emergency of her own: a
brain tumour removed. Jett was only four months old
when Derani lost hearing in one ear. It turned out to be
a benign tumour but there were months of intense rehab
after the surgery.
“I just knew it was all going to be okay – I wasn’t
worried but it was terrible for Adam and my parents,” she
recalls quietly. “My mum was wonderful and held it all
together, cooking and looking after us.” And her RFDS
family were the same – every few days a food parcel would
land, as if by magic, on her front doorstep. “They were so
amazing. They even organised a food roster.”
With two boisterous boys under six, Derani has a full
and busy life away from nursing. “I go to work for a break,”
she laughs. Recently Adam moved from regular ofice hours
to a more lexible position that will it better around
Derani’s shifts – though he also has a busy schedule with
the Army Reserve. They’ve managed to pull off the→
Above: Jan
receiving care from
Derani mid-flight.
Right: The founder
of the RoyalFlying
Doctor Service,
ReverendJohn
Flynn. Below:
Derani with
96-year-old Elsie
Phillis on board,
who is happy
to be returning
home to Wudinna
after a hip
replacement.