A farming mum says advances in technology have helped her boys get the best in health.
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Ange Greenhill used to drive her sons Jack, 8 and Eddie, 7, two hours each way from their eastern Riverina property to see a speech therapist. But thanks to Royal Far West’s “Telecare” program, the children now get to see a therapist using an internet connection.
“We were missing out on after-school activities because we had to go to speech therapy,” Mrs Greenhill said.
“And we never knew about Royal Far West until last year – Jack’s been in speech therapy since he was three – but the boys love it.”
For 94 years Royal Far West has helped support sick children across the state, working with communities to provide access to the kind of care available in Sydney.
Now, through the use of online video calls, medical professionals at Royal Far West’s Manly head office can talk to children, their families and teachers, anywhere in the state.
“They love getting to go on the computer and talk with Victoria (their speech therapist),” Mrs Greenhill said.
“We don’t allow a lot of television or screen time at home – their speech problem is bad enough – so it’s a bit of a treat. They’ve been pushed a bit further too and their teacher is in the sessions with them so they can implement things to work on in the classroom.”
According to Mrs Greenhill, Jack and Eddie had made significantly greater progress using the Telecare program, made possible thanks to the support of fundraising and volunteers like Tim Wess, executive dean of Charles Sturt University’s science faculty in Wagga.
Dr Wess was among 61 cyclists who rode from Lightning Ridge to Bourke earlier this month, covering 500 kilometres and raising more than $500,000 in the process.
Royal Far West chief executive Lindsay Cane said the generosity was “overwhelming”.
“We are grateful to each and every one of (our fundraisers),” Ms Cane said.
“It is marvellous to see the amount of goodwill when it comes to both city and country working together to make things happen for our kids.”