When Inverell woman Sharon Hall's daughter Elizabeth was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2021, she didn't know how difficult accessing treatment would be.
Three-year-old Elizabeth has spent much of her life receiving treatment at John Hunter Hospital near Newcastle, an 860-kilometre return drive from her hometown.
Ms Hall has found travelling the long distance isolating and challenging.
"It's bad enough being told that your kid's got cancer — let alone that you won't return home for nine to 10 months and to go through it all by yourself," she said.
But not-for-profit group Little Wings has helped ease the burden on Ms Hall and hundreds of other parents in similar situations across regional New South Wales.
It provides a free flight and ground transport service to seriously ill children and their families, giving access to specialised medical treatment only available in major city hospitals.
Chief executive Clare Pearson says the service aims to reduce the emotional stress, travel fatigue and financial burden of long-distance and repetitive travel.
"We want to be a part of the solution," she said.
"The gap between healthcare in the city and the regions is very significant."
In 2021, Ms Hall and Elizabeth spent 330 days in hospital.
When they were given a short break from treatment, the travel provided by Little Wings meant they could have an extra two days at home.
"We ended up with eight days that we were at home … it honestly means the world," Ms Hall said.
The organisation also flies specialised doctors to regional bases, which allows Ms Hall to take Elizabeth for regular check-ups in Tamworth, instead Newcastle, and halves their travel time.
New regional hangar
On Wednesday, Little Wings launched its first hangar outside of Sydney, at its base in Cessnock.
The addition allows the service to increase its capacity by 300 missions annually.
The service currently partners with four major health providers, including John Hunter, Westmead, Randwick Children's Hospitals, and Royal Far West.
"In the last two-and-a-half years, the demand in the Hunter region ... increased by nearly 110 per cent," Ms Pearson said.
With 71 volunteers, Little Wings clocks up 2,000 hours flying in and out of 55 regions across New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland.
It has completed 3,470 missions since its inception 10 years ago.
"We're a 90-per-cent volunteer-led organisation. So 100 per cent of our pilots and drivers donate their time to keep us in the air and on the road everyday," Ms Pearson said.
Improving health access
Adam Holt was a volunteer pilot for seven years before becoming head of flying operations at Little Wings.
In that time, he's completed over 300 missions transporting families and building bonds with those who regularly require the service.
"The families in regional and remote areas need this access to medical treatment," he said.
"The stress and burden of travel that's put on families … it's impossible to not want to do more."
Mr Holt said his time with the charity has been incredibly rewarding.
"The response from the families is amazing," he said.
"They make you want to keep doing what you're doing, even on the worst possible day."
