ALMOST A YEAR ON, originally from the United Kingdom, HealthX nurse, Kim Gonse recounts her life-changing experience while nursing in Theodore during the Great Flood.
"Honestly, I don’t think I was really that scared. You’re just pumped with adrenaline. I just felt awful for all those people who lost their homes."
Fearless, calm and collected, Kim helped evacuate Theodore Hospital where she works as a Registered Nurse, that fateful evening in four hours.
On night shift, Kim wasted no time in making a decision to get all the patients out of the hospital which was rapidly being surrounded by water, so that they could be airlifted to safety.
“We had three elderly patients, two of them couldn’t walk and one of them needed a wheelchair.”
“The police and fire brigade helped us with the transfer, we got the patients out, we worked all night.”
By 5am and with the flood water at about 2 metres high, the patients had been airlifted to safety to Biloela where makeshift beds were set-up at the RSL hall.
Kim accompanied her patients all the way, even getting on the helicopter with them.
“It was a little scary because we lost visibility for about 15 minutes – even the pilots were saying that this is not good.
We weren’t sure where we were going to land, we circled Rockhampton.
And when we landed, the pilot was like “well, that was a bit of touch and go for a while, wasn’t it?”
Quickly putting that behind her, Kim dived straight into work and endured another seven night shifts after that.
Proud to be a part of the Theodore community, Kim is passionate about her work and loves her life in the southern end of Queensland’s Bowen Basin.
“I love it here – it’s very rewarding. If I left Theodore, I would have half the experience that I’ve gained from working in such a close knit facility.”
Kim cited that the best thing about living in regional Queensland is the opportunity to work in rural facilities. “It allows for a broader scope,” said Kim.