Bumbleance drives across the country to bring Maya to hospital

The national ambulance service offers free transport for children with serious health conditions  

Fourteen-year-old Maya was travelling home to Castlebar after a visit to Crumlin Hospital when her mum spotted a BUMBLEance fuelling up.

A chance sighting at a fuel station changed Maya Bullard’s life for the better – and that of her family.

Fourteen-year-old Maya, who has Down syndrome, cardiac issues and scoliosis, was travelling home to Castlebar two years ago following her umpteenth visit to Crumlin Hospital when her mum, Laura, spotted a BUMBLEance fuelling up in Co Longford.

BUMBLEance – the official Children’s National Ambulance Service of Ireland – provides free transport for children affected by serious or life-limiting conditions as they travel between their homes and healthcare settings.

Laura never thought of Maya as sick, “just that she requires a lot of maintenance to avoid getting sick”. Seeing the children’s ambulance, she wished Maya – who also has arthritis – had something to make life a little easier. The next day she rang BUMBLEance.

“I asked about the criteria for getting help. I explained Maya’s conditions. I assumed BUMBLEance was for cancer patients. But they said absolutely – they could bring her to her appointments. I couldn’t believe it,” says the mum-of-two – her son, Jude, is 10 years old.

Before discovering BUMBLEance, Maya's dad would have to take time off work to drive to Dublin or else they would get the train.

Prior to BUMBLEance, the family had two equally unsatisfactory travel options when it came to Maya’s Dublin-based appointments. Dad Mark, who works nights as a maintenance technician, would have to take significant time off work to drive his daughter to Dublin. “For an 8am appointment, he’d have to take two nights off because you’d spend a day in the hospital.”

Alternatively, the family used the train. “It’s very expensive and it doesn’t always favour appointment times. Even if you can get to Dublin on time, you then have to take a taxi and there’s no guarantee you’ll make the train home,” explains Laura.

Since March 2020, Maya has had at least 42 trips to/from hospital in the BUMBLEance – translating to 42 times Mark didn’t have to try to get time off. “His stress levels have reduced enormously. Some appointments are at short notice and he couldn’t always get the time off.”

BUMBLEance ensures Maya travels in safety and comfort. Recalling how, aged seven, Maya had heart and hip surgery in the same year, Laura says: “If you’ve had your hip done and you have scoliosis, sitting for long periods is torture. The relief Maya feels that she can lie down in the BUMBLEance is huge.”

Maya attends St Anthony’s Special School, Castlebar, which she loves. “With BUMBLEance, she has gone from being heartbroken at missing school to being mildly disappointed. She loves the drivers and that she can lie down and rest.”