Kootingal-Moonbi Rugby League Football Club raises close to $9000 for Little Wings

The Kootingal-Moonbi Rugby League Football Club has thrown its support behind club president and secretary Lad and Joanne Jones, to raise money for Little Wings.

The patient transfer service is one close to the hearts of the Jones family, with their four-year-old son Jesse living with Cystic Fibrosis.

Mrs Jones said every six to ten weeks the family boards the Little Wings plane to Sydney, to get Jesse the treatment he needs.

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"It's amazing. It takes the burden off us financially and also emotionally," she said.

"With the price of fuel at the moment, it's just crazy."

Jesse's diagnosis causes both breathing and digestive problems for the four-year-old, which worsened over Christmas last year.

Because of this, the family has been transferred from the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle to the Children's Hospital at Westmead.

With two other children to look after, Mrs Jones said using the service was a "lifesaver".

"It keeps our family together for longer. Sometimes the big kids are able to come with us," she said.

"We've all gone down on the Little Wings plane, stayed at Ronald McDonald House, and then been back home the next day."

Catching as little as a cold can result in a two week hospital stay for Jesse, which will affects his ability to participate at pre-school.

"It's really hard, especially when we have two older children who are healthy," Ms Jones said.

Tamworth is the busiest destination for the service, with 88 families using the hospital flight program to access treatment for their kids.

When Jesse was first diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, Mrs Jones said the family considered packing up and moving to the city due to the lack of treatment options in the bush.

"We're country born and bred. We're a country family, so to even contemplate having to pack up and move is huge," she said.

In specially designed Little Wings jerseys, the club raised close to $9000, which is enough to help another six families utilise the service.

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