Isolation advocate:

Raine Holcombe raises awareness from her own battles

Raine Holcombe (nee Pugh, RGS 2005) arrived at RGS in Year 8 from the Northern Territory. Her parents chose RGS for a boarding school because it was co-educational and her mum, Janelle, had family in Central Queensland.

At RGS, Raine studied aviation with a plan to get her plane license and then a helicopter license so she could become a mustering pilot. Raine did get the plane license but preferred her mustering experiences on the ground rather than in the air.

Raine has always been passionate about the land and regional Australia.

In 2019 she met her husband Tristram and they purchased a house in a town called Timber Creek, 250kms west of Katherine in the Northern Territory. “We also lease 30,000 acres of land where we run cattle and horses. We currently run a contract mustering business (which Tristram started 12 years ago). We operate 3 stockcamps and employ 22 people who travel and muster across the NT, and Kimberley region of WA,’’ Raine said. Tristram’s work commitments often leave Raine at home with her two children, Hallie (2 years) and Stirling (5 months), to run the property for extended periods at a time.

This is their “family’s” life.

However, picturing this family lifestyle was not so long ago a challenging time for Raine and Tristram.

“Tristram and I met in 2011 and were married in 2016. Our plans were to immediately start a family after we were married. We always discussed wanting 2 or 3 kids. However with no success after 16 months of trying we began our IVF journey. It took us 4 years of IVF before we finally got our daughter Hallie,’’ Raine said.

“When initally trying to fall pregnant, it was very disheartening to continually get negative pregnancy tests every month. When we first began IVF we thought that having a baby was guaranteed, it might just take a little longer than most. But now we know that is so far from the truth and that some people never get their little miracles.

“Doing IVF whilst living in the bush is hard too. There is extra travel, which then leads to extra expenses. Not to mention the difficulties of locating, storing and transporting all the medications requried to undergo the IVF cycles.

“During our IVF journey there was a lot of the ‘blame game’ being played. Who’s fault in the relationship was it that was causing the infertility. We were on different paths on how far we were willing to go and how much time and money we were willing to spend. This made it a very emotional and challenging time for us both.”

Hallie was their last embryo they had transferred before considering surrogacy. “We didn’t know if we were having 1 or 2 babies, but at 7 weeks I had all the symptoms of a miscarriage and the doctors believe that I was carrying twins and we lost one. This made us very anxious for the rest of pregnancy and Tristram was exremely protective. He practially had me wrapped in bubble wrap,’’ Raine said.

“When Hallie arrived in November of 2020 we felt a huge relief that she was healthy and finally in our arms. She was the most perfect and easy baby and has brought us both so much love and laughter.”

Their second baby Stirling was “a bit of a suprise”.

“We had just undergone an IVF stimulation cycle to create more embryos so that we could extend the family, but while the embryos were undergoing testing (which takes 3-4 weeks), we fell pregnant naturally,’’ Raine said.

“Our cause of infertility requires me to be on a heavy immune protocol which includes a blood infusion (which can only be accessed in Sydney or Melbourne), fortnightly Intralipid infusions and other daily medications including injections (blood thinners, steroids, progesterone support etc).

“For my first pregnancy I was on these until 14 weeks, but for my second pregnancy my doctor recommended I stay on them until 26 weeks.

“The second pregnancy was much harder because of this extended immune protocol. The steroids in particular made me gain an excessive amount of weight and fluid, gave me temporary insomnia, sore joints and a vunerable immune system.”

This experience has ignited a passion in Raine to help others.

“Travelling 2 hours for simple blood test or 1000’s of kilometres interstate to see our specialist has made me realise what a challenge it is for those living on the land to access these services,’’ Raine said.

“I have a instagram page: barren_old_cow and I created it to share my story and offer a shoulder or an ear for those who want to know where to start, what shortcuts to take and to listen to them when it all goes downhill.

“Physically, mentally, emotionally and financially, IVF is a real fight and it helps to have others supporting you when you need it most.”

It’s one of the many challenges Raine has been determined to overcome. It was this same resilience that helps her battle the daily challenges of life on the land.

“Being at home alone comes with its challenges,’’ Raine said.

Last year they lost the majority of the feed in their paddocks to three seperate fires.

“I felt hopeless being home alone whilst 8 months pregnant and with a toddler in tow,’’ Raine said.

Then on Christmas Eve, 2022, Cyclone Ellie tracked inland.

“As she turned into a rain depression, she landed right on top of us. We recieved 260mm of rain in one night (592mm for the month of December), with further heavy rainfalls before and after,’’ Raine said.

“This left significant flooding on our property. Our house was safe and received no damage, however we did lose 90% of our fencing. This was extremely disheartening as we have spent the past five years putting in all the necessary improvements, only to now have to start again.”

True to Raine’s spirit she can find a postivie from heartbreak.

“We were very fortunate in that all of our stock (cattle and horses) were safe.”