With specialist treatment available only at Westmead Children's Hospital, Dakeda and his guardian, Kelly Lanesbury, were faced with the daunting task of driving a 10-hour round trip for care.

These routine trips can be costly and emotionally taxing.

"We were in Sydney roughly three weeks for initial treatment," Dakeda's guardian Kelly Lanesbury recounted to the Argus.

Whilst in Westmead, the family discovered an organisation called Little Wings that were about to make their lives considerably easier.

Little Wings is a not-for-profit organization, receiving zero government funding, and relies heavily on community support.

"We found out about Little Wings from the social worker at Westmead," Kelly explained.

"I hadn't heard about Little Wings before but we used them for the first time when we needed to go back again for follow up treatment.

"Little Wings flew to Kempsey airport with two seats for passengers and another two for pilots before flying us to Bankstown airport."

The following day Dakeda and Kelly were transported by bus to Westmead for their appointment at the critical burns unit before boarding the Little Wings bus again back to Bankstown and on the flight home to Kempsey.

"It's pretty amazing, it's all for free," Kelly said.

"When you have a really bad illness or accident the last thing you want to think about is how you're going to get to those appointments, take time off work etc.

"It's amazing there's a service like this for people in regional areas.

"More people should know about them because they do such an amazing job.

"There's most likely people travelling long distances down to Sydney or wherever they need treatment when Little Wings can step in and help take some of the burden off.

"The team at Little Wings are friendly, kind people and very sensitive to everything you're going through."

Dakeda and Kelly used the Little Wings service three times in the last year and there was no fear of flying for the three-year-old.

"He was super excited the first time we went on the plane and then he fell asleep halfway through the flight which wasn't good because I was pretty anxious," Kelly laughed.

Thanks to the work of health services, Dakeda no longer requires treatment after recovering from his injuries.

In order to assist Dakeda and his family, Hexham Bowling Club have been big supporters, quietly in the background funding missions and helping ease the journey for regional families in need.

Little Wings chief executive Clare Pearson was delighted to see the work her team had done to help make the process easier.

"We at Little Wings are so proud to be part of the journey for these families. We operate on a daily basis from Bankstown Aerodrome with the sole purpose of helping regional families caring for a seriously ill child. Knowing that we have positively impacted Dakeda and his family is a trump for us," she said.

"Little Wings is committed for the duration of the treatment journey for regional families, we are in it for the long haul, because when we support families, communities thrive.

"But we cannot do it alone and we are so grateful to have the support and partnership of Hexham RSL Club, that allows us to support families in need without hesitation.

"We wish Dakeda and his family nothing but health and happiness for the future."

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