{"id":374142,"date":"2025-12-27T02:00:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T02:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/374142\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T02:00:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T02:00:18","slug":"family-praise-royal-flying-doctors-service-one-year-after-gus-mcpherson-10-breaks-leg-in-motorbike-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/374142\/","title":{"rendered":"Family praise Royal Flying Doctors Service one year after Gus McPherson, 10, breaks leg in motorbike crash"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a small trail, about 3km from his family\u2019s home in WA\u2019s<\/a> Wheatbelt, 10-year-old Gus McPherson lay in agony.<\/p>\n

The boy was riding his motorbike around his family\u2019s Gillingarra farm<\/a> \u2014 about 30km south of Moora \u2014 with his teenage sister, Georgie, when he ploughed into a gate on December 10, 2024.<\/p>\n

After a family search, he was found on the trail with a broken tibia and fibula.<\/p>\n

Mother Erin McPherson said the alarm bells began ringing after Georgie returned home without her younger brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorgie got back to the house and just asked if Gus was here . . . so I gave him a couple of minutes and said, \u2018he might be right behind you, if not, we\u2019ll give dad a call at the workshop\u2019,\u201d she told The West Australian.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"GusCamera IconGus McPherson 11, with mum Erin. Jackson Flindell Credit: Jackson Flindell\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

\u201cI called (my husband) Clint and he said, \u2018No, he\u2019s not here\u2019. . . it was getting way too dark outside for Gus to be on the motorbike by himself, so I knew something wasn\u2019t right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gus was found on the trail with a broken tibia and fibula.<\/p>\n

Ms McPherson said her son had smashed into the gate at \u201cfull speed\u201d and that it was a miracle his injuries weren\u2019t more serious.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just remembers looking over his shoulder to see if Georgie was coming behind him, and that\u2019s when he hit the gate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just hit it full pelt, straight into the metal gate, probably about 60 to 70km\/h.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms McPherson described the crash as an \u201cunlucky accident\u201d, but said motorbikes were a large part of farming culture.<\/p>\n

\"TheCamera IconThe gate that 10-year-old Gus crashed into. Unknown Credit: Unknown\/Supplied<\/p>\n

She said Gus was an experienced rider who had been motorcycling since he was about four-years-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cMotorbikes are hugely part of our lifestyle here, they grow up on a motorbike,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201c(They ride) if they\u2019re rounding up sheep, or if they\u2019ve got mates over they go for a ride, it\u2019s something they do often.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was simply because he didn\u2019t see the gate \u2014 I think it was because of the lighting, because the sun was starting to go down and there was a glare.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gus was rushed to Moora Hospital but was airlifted to Perth Children\u2019s Hospital on the Royal Flying Doctors Service the following morning due concerns he had internal injuries.<\/p>\n

Ms McPherson said she was worried her son had a concussion, but said she felt an immediate sense of calm after boarding the plane.<\/p>\n

\"10-year-oldCamera Icon10-year-old Gus McPherson was flown to Perth Children’s Hospital by the Royal Flying Doctors Service following a freak motorbike crash last December. Unknown Credit: Unknown\/Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t know where he was, he was repeating himself, he just didn\u2019t understand what had happened,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was in so much pain on the road, but going onto the flight he was just so comfortable, which is a luxury isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

RFDS doctor Mohammad Albiaty \u2014 who helped treat Gus \u2014 said motorbike injuries were complex because it was difficult to know if there were any internal injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith kids, there\u2019s an added weight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do everything by the book, but you\u2019re very aware of the emotion behind the situation for everyone involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe teamwork and collaboration in our small and highly skilled team is impressively seamless and mission focused.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"10-year-oldCamera Icon10-year-old Gus McPherson at Perth Children’s Hospital following a freak motorbike crash last December. Unknown Credit: Unknown\/Supplied<\/p>\n

A year on, the now-11-year-old has made a full recovery and is back to his old sporty self.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s back doing everything he loves \u2014 he plays cricket, he\u2019s back on his motorbike, but probably not as often,\u201d Ms McPherson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe takes it a little easier which is a good thing because it slows him down and he realises what can happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a kid that\u2019s very good at sport, he couldn\u2019t swim, he couldn\u2019t do cross country (when he was injured) . . . but now he\u2019s doing everything he loves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Ms McPherson organised a local fundraising run \u2014 raising a staggering $130,000 to say thanks to the RFDS for their remarkable service to WA\u2019s rural community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ran (26km) from the farm . . . to the local pub down the road, and we had 160 participants,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"(L-R)Camera Icon(L-R) Georgie McPherson 14, Erin McPherson, Gus McPherson 11, Clint McPherson. Jackson Flindell Credit: Jackson Flindell\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

\u201c(The RFDS) have become family, I have started to track and watch how many times the flights actually come to Moora.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re such an incredible service, all the staff are just so passionate and we\u2019re just so lucky to have them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a small trail, about 3km from his family\u2019s home in WA\u2019s Wheatbelt, 10-year-old Gus McPherson lay in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":374143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[64,63,8984,137,500,44,45,63811],"class_list":["post-374142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-disaster-and-emergency","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-news","tag-wa-news","tag-wheatbelt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/374143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}