It was a sunny March day in 2023 when every parent’s worst nightmare became a reality for Maddi Hutchison. The 27-year-old was travelling home to Ballarat from Melbourne with her husband, Josh Liston, when their four-month-old son, York, went into cardiac arrest.
While only 450 metres down the road from Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, it took an ambulance 11 minutes to reach them. During that time Maddi and Josh performed two rounds of CPR.
“We were told by the doctors in the hospital that if we hadn’t performed CPR, York would have passed away or had severe brain damage,” Maddi says. “While it’s terrifying to have to be in that situation, it’s extremely empowering that we were able to act when we needed to. First aid training saved my son’s life.”
York was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis while in utero. And at 18 months old has already undergone three open heart surgeries. Living in regional Victoria, Maddi’s access to first aid training for her son’s complex needs was limited. That was until she met paediatric intensive care nurse Grace Larson, and took one of her first aid courses.
With 17 years’ experience working across paediatric intensive care units, Grace is passionate about improving the lives of children – especially those living in the bush.
“There is a huge centralisation of services, particularly for paediatrics, in metropolitan areas because it’s such a speciality,” Grace explains. “When we moved away from Melbourne 10 years ago, I really thought about how I could contribute to rural communities in a meaningful way.”
Grace has experienced the medical challenges of being a regional parent herself. Her youngest daughter was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition at six weeks old.
“I knew what to look out for because of my nursing background, but I thought, what about all those people out there who wouldn’t know? That planted the beginning of an idea for a charity.”
Nearly a decade later, that idea has morphed into a life-changing project. Living on a small heritage apple orchard outside Mia Mia in regional Victoria, with her husband Steven and three children (Mieke, 10, Jonti, seven, and Freya, four), Grace has launched a not-for-profit initiative – The Sisterhood Project. It provides free infant and child first aid training to parents and carers who couldn’t otherwise access or afford it.
“I called my sister Skye in 2021 and said, ‘I want to start a charity. Will you help?’” Grace recalls. “Skye said yes straight away.” Grace and Skye secured funding through various grants and fundraising before partnering with accredited first aid providers to offer the free courses. The sisters have the ambitious aim to scale the program nationally and educate 1500 people annually in each state and territory.
“In Victoria, approximately 40 per cent of children who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest will not survive,” Grace explains. “CPR at the scene is one of the major predictors of survival.”
More than 68,000 Australian children are hospitalised from accidents every year. First aid training can be the difference between life and death. Yet the financial barrier can be prohibitive, with courses costing up to $150. “That sort of money is the difference between rent and weekly groceries for a lot of people,” Grace says. “Offering free courses to those who can’t afford it could help move the needle on infant and child mortality.”
With a career spanning a multitude of communications roles, Skye brings her marketing know-how to complement her sister’s medical expertise. “I’m the only one in our whole family who isn’t involved in medicine,” Skye laughs. “It’s so humbling to be part of something that is changing people’s lives.
“I was home by myself with my sons when my youngest choked at six months. I just went straight into first aid. As scary as it is to go through something like that, the instinct and knowledge kicked in. I want others to have those skills too.”
The 36-year-old volunteers her time for the project around parenting her boys (Alfie, four, and Oscar, 18 months), as well as her day job as head of commercial at a ticketing company.
Skye was at the recent ceremony where Grace was announced as the 2024 Victorian winner of the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award. The award’s accompanying $15,000 Westpac grant will go towards running more first-aid courses in regional and rural Australia.
“Our mum and I just burst into tears,” Skye remembers. “Grace so deserves this recognition.”
Looking back at the last two years is a blur to Grace. She says Maddi and York’s story still gives her goosebumps.
“Most of the time you just don’t know the impact this type of training will have, because there are so many near misses when you have kids. Even with the best-laid plans, accidents happen,” Grace says.
“While you never want someone to have to use their training, I’m just so grateful when people do, and the muscle memory kicks in. Because when you need it, you often really need it.”
To learn more or access a course, visit thesisterhoodproject.com.au
This article originally appeared in the August 2024 issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly magazine. Pick up the most recent issue at your local newsagent, or subscribe so you never miss an issue.
