‘Angels delivered our son home!’
Billy and Jessie are forever grateful to pilot Darryl, who flew their sick son to Queensland
Cradling her baby boy close, Jessie Evans couldn’t hide her smile and relief as the plane touched down.
The two-hour journey to Brisbane was one Jessie feared she, her fiance Billy Blacker and their chronically ill four-month-old son Rocka would never make when they were stuck in Sydney thanks to border closures. But then Angel Flight stepped in.
The charity organised for volunteer pilot Darryl Campbell to transport the stranded family back to their home state in September. “It was a huge relief for us to finally go home – without them we’d still be stuck. I truly can’t thank them enough,” says Jessie, 25. “It takes a lot to stress me out, but it’s all been really tough!”
Having met the family on the tarmac of Bankstown Airport, 56-year-old Darryl, who has made an incredible 280 flights with Angel Flight in eight years, was happy to help make the family’s life a little easier.
“Being an Angel Flight pilot, it’s an opportunity to help someone doing it tough,” says Darryl, who in his day job works as a manager at Campsie RSL Club. “Jessie and Billy were just really nice people, having a hard time and desperate to get home.”
And Darryl admits he loves to see the smiles on his passengers’ faces when his
7.62 metre Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche takes to the skies.
Angel Flights coordinates non-emergency flights like this one, helping country people in need travel to and from specialist medical treatment, free of charge. It coordinates with volunteer pilots across Australia who supply their own aircraft and assist to cover fuel costs. “Being able to help relieve some of the burden when they’re already going through so much is why I fly,” explains Darryl.
SHOCK DIAGNOSIS
In August, Jessie and Billy, 24, travelled to Sydney’s Children’s Hospital in Randwick so Rocka could undergo treatment for spinal muscular atrophy 1 (SMA1), a terminal genetic condition that causes paralysis.
The first-time parents were devastated when their “happy” and “easygoing” baby was diagnosed in June. “When doctors explained to us what was happening, it broke us,” says Jessie. “I had no idea SMA existed, I was lost for words.”
‘Our hope now is to give Rocka the best life he can have’
Rocka began treatment immediately, receiving medicine via lumber puncture every two weeks to help improve his motor function, before he was recommended for gene therapy treatment in Sydney. However, by the time Rocka was given the all clear to return home by his care team, the borders were shut.
Unable to return home via road or a commercial flight due to Rocka’s compromised immunity, Angel
Flight reached out and offered to help.
“After all we’d been through it was so heart-warming they offered,” says Jessie.
“And flying with Darryl was great
– it was so good to have a conversation that didn’t revolve around the hospital.
“I’ll be forever grateful to him... he’s an incredible man with a kind heart.”
Glad to be home in Jandowae in remote western Queensland after finishing quarantine, Jessie is now on a mission to raise awareness about the rare disease and hopes to make newborn screening for the SMA1 gene mandatory in Queensland.
“It’s a $10 test when every Queensland baby has it done – I think that’s worth it,” she says. “I just want to spread the word – it could change lives.”
“Our hope now is to give Rocka the best life he can have, and we will go to the end of the earth to make that happen.”
To support Angel Flight, visit angelflight.org.au. To donate to Rocka’s ongoing treatments, visit au.gofundme.com/f/rideforrocka