It was their eldest son, George, who first needed specialist care when an intussusception made him a very sick one-year-old, in September last year.

A year later, his younger brother Thomas was very ill with viral bronchitis at just six weeks of age, going from what seemed like a mild cold to a hacking cough, then a raging fever, followed by violent projectile vomiting and a desperate struggle to breathe.

Both times, it was the Royal Flying Doctor Service that came to the rescue when Brooke and Lachlan feared their babies’ little bodies wouldn’t have the strength to make the 500km drive to the intensive care that was urgently needed.

"It was the first time I felt safe in four days,” Brooke recalled of the plane’s arrival. “Watching them hook Thomas up to their monitors and high-tech ventilators – I knew that my baby was in the best possible hands."

Six weeks later, Thomas had a re-occurence of the same illness, and doctors at the Roma hospital had to once again call Retrieval Services Queensland to work quickly with the RFDS to make sure help was on its way.

“They are a great organisation,” Lachlan said. “We’ve had to rely on the RFDS three times in a small space of time. We would bend over backwards for them.”

It’s why they’ve happily agreed to be the face of the RFDS 2016 Christmas Appeal, which so far has raised $283,000 of a $400,000 goal by Christmas Eve.

One group boosting the amount donated so far has been Lachlan’s workplace, Taylor Byrne agribusiness specialist services, who put in $5000 at a morning tea at their South Brisbane office last week.

According to managing director, Tim Rabbit, as a regionally-based company they believe it’s important to support people and institutions who support the regions.

“Taylor Byrne will support the Flying Doctor,” he said.

The organisation and the Queensland Health aeromedical team they work with are described as some of the most well-trained and experienced emergency personnel in the world, and among the best equipped.

Shortly after receiving the call for help for Thomas, two paediatric emergency specialists from the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital and a highly experienced RFDS flight nurse were in the air and on their way to Roma.

Once there, they placed Thomas in a humidicrib to help ventilate him and regulate his temperature on the journey. They also attached him to a Propaq monitor so that they could keep an eye on his vital signs.

Just over an hour later, they touched down in Brisbane, where an ambulance waited to rush him to intensive care.

 Spokeswoman Sarah Riseley said the RFDS was hoping this year’s appeal would be their most successful to date, so that the airborne emergency service could continue to offer such a service to keep children in rural Australia safe.

You can donate here to assist the Christmas appeal.