Wawat Rodiahwati, from Indonesia, has been studying a PhD on the Production of Biofuels at the university, balancing her studies with life as a single mother to her little boy Arzanka.

She actually put her studies on hold after becoming pregnant, and returned to Indonesia for his birth.

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But now back in Armidale, she faced a daunting time when the youngster required urgent surgery in Sydney, and turned to a local service for help.

"Families come to us for all sorts of reasons," Susan McMichael, a family support worker at New England Family Support Service, said.

"We have young parents, old parents, single mothers."

She said Arzanka had been diagnosed with a couple of conditions that meant he needed to go to Sydney for surgery.

"Transport is a huge issue for our clients, I mean it's a huge issue around our region," Susan said.

"Just getting to the coast for health issues has become more difficult than it was three months ago with the loss of the busses, so getting to Sydney with a child for a complicated medical issue was extremely difficult."

New England Family Support Service contacted Angel Flight, who co-ordinated with a volunteer pilot in Brisbane who flew Wawat and Arzanka down to Sydney on May 17 from Armidale Regional Airport.

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Angel Flight then also organised a volunteer driver to transport mother and son to the hospital, and two weeks later organised a flight home for Wawat and Arzanka after the surgery was complete.

Now that Wawat and Arzanka have both been back in Armidale, and Arzanka has been recovering well from the surgery, Susan has revealed how much the Angel Flight service means to families.

"Transport, particularly with sick kids, is really difficult," Susan said. "And they make it much easier."

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