Heart's content at sky-high ride
THIS youngster has been on a roller-coaster ride all his life.
Yesterday he got the ride he's always wanted, flying over the Cairns Show in a chopper for 10 minutes.
See our Cairns Show picture gallery.
Ten-year-old Jonathon Johnson, from Yarrabah, was born with a hole in his heart.
Dubbed the "little fighter" by his mum, Darlene Bounghi, Jonathon had his first operation at two weeks old. As he grew older, he needed more surgery to repair the hole.
"When he was about eight months old he had a pacemaker inserted but one year later his aorta played up," Ms Bounghi said.
"He's sick all the time but he's a tough little boy."
Ms Bounghi said if her son missed his medication it could become a matter of life or death.
"He can't go home and run around like normal kids do because he will become sick and is likely to drop dead," she said.
Jonathon is back at Cairns Base Hospital this week after a stay at the Mater Children's Hospital in Brisbane.
Children's ward nurse manager Caroline Witter said: "Heart problems prevent him from doing what other normal 10-year-olds would do but he takes it in his stride and copes well."
Share this article
Back to earth: It was thumbs up when Jonathon Johnson, 10, touched down after his 10-minute chopper ride over the Cairns Show.
New Jetstar flights between Cairns and Osaka
THE re-introduction of Jetstar's four weekly direct services to Osaka in Japan and a doubling of flights to Melbourne from April 1 next year are the first significant announcements today by the airline as the result of a new agreement with Cairns Airport.
Kate earns National Pride Medal
INSPIRING young leader and cancer survivor Kate Smith could hardly believe she won a national Pride of Australia medal last night.
Abbott wins in leadership spill
BREAKING NEWS: Tony Abbott is the new Opposition Leader.
Escapee back in custody
BREAKING NEWS: Police have found a man who escaped from police custody at Ravenshoe on Sunday night.
Woman watched boyfriend bash, strip tourist
THE girlfriend of a man accused of raping and attempting to rape two foreign tourists at a Cairns caravan park says she watched him bash and strip one of them then chase after her.





















