Not a hero, but just doing a job.

A one-legged toddler in a Brisbane hospital was a defining moment in the early career of Amanda McClelland.

The nurse and humanitarian aid worker has spent the last 20 years battling against disease epidemics, natural disasters, extreme poverty, civil wars and general chaos.

Her journey is a million miles away from those days of growing up in the tranquil setting of Bribie Island, just north of Brisbane.

“I was searching for something I couldn’t find in the suburbs…”

Two years ago, Amanda received the Florence Nightingale Medal, in recognition of an extraordinary career while serving with the Australian Red Cross – a role she still has these days based in Switzerland.

While recently visiting family in Brisbane, she spoke candidly with 96five’s Arthur Muhl of her experiences, shared for the first time in her book “Emergencies Only”…

Find out what Red Cross Australia is involved in here.