Emily Lanna1
1Careflight, Mascot & Bankstown, Australia
Abstract:
On the 23rd of July, 2019 on Cadrona ski field in the South Island of New Zealand my life hit an ultimate low point. I was 10 days into a 4-week ski holiday when I hit a patch of ice on a cat track, fell over and shattered my femur and hip. Due to the significant blood loss and extent of my injuries, I was rescued by helicopter and taken to Dunedin Hospital & and straight into theatre. A week later my transfer home was booked with NZ AA which would involve an AA from Dunedin to Auckland and then a commercial stretcher to Sydney. Unfortunately, I deteriorated, and the decision was made to cancel once in the ambulance. I was in septic shock and organ failure. I was transferred to ICU the next morning for liver, renal and heart failure. About seven days after that I was finally transferred home by Careflight Air Ambulance (CFAA). It is now 2024 and since that day I have had seven surgeries, several hospital admissions with multiple complications, and attended thousands of hours of rehabilitation but I am also now a Flight Nurse for CFAA. The Flight Nurse who did my retrieval signed me off to fly by myself and the Doctor is my Medical Director.
I have had to overcome extensive physical challenges, post-traumatic stress disorder and medication-free pain management to get to where I am. It has also made me a better Flight Nurse and patient advocate. I would like to address the lessons I have learnt and how I apply them to my career. While also giving a patient perspective. It truly is incredible when I think that there was a time when I thought my career was over and now I’m at the high point of my career.
Biographies:
– Clinical Nurse Consultant, NSW Ambulance
– Flight Nurse, Careflight Air Ambulance
– Advanced Life Support Instructor, ACCCN
Emily has worked in critical care since graduating from university. Initially working in Intensive care then transitioning to being an Emergency RN in two large tertiary hospitals in Sydney, Australia. Currently Emily works as a Clinical Nurse Consultant in the Virtual Care Centre for NSW Ambulance which oversees the whole of NSW while also Flying for Careflight Air Ambulance. The cross over from these two roles satisfies Emily’s passion for interhospital care, ensuring all patient’s get to where they need to go to have the most positive outcomes.