Woman Uses Electric Car to Power Son's Dialysis Machine During Blackout

"We could have run it for at least four nights and then have to go charge the car somewhere."

Dialysis Disaster

After a storm and flash flooding knocked out the power in south-east Queensland, Australia, a local woman used her electric car to power her son's life-saving dialysis machine.

It's a tale that highlights the very real advantages of having a massive battery pack parked outside your home. An increasing number of EV makers are equipping their vehicles with the ability to act as a power supply, allowing those without power to charge their devices. Some companies, like Ford, take this to the next level by allowing their vehicles to feed into the grid, powering entire homes.

Kristy Holmes, who lives on Australia's Gold Coast, used her Atto 3 — a popular Tesla alternative built by Chinese competitor BYD that isn't currently available in the US — to power her 11-year-old's dialysis machine on Christmas Day.

"We ran it off the car," Holmes told The Guardian. "We only needed to use it for the one night. We could have run it for at least four nights and then have to go charge the car somewhere."

Backup Power

It was a matter of life and death, according to the report. Holmes' son was set to go on a transplant list and would've otherwise had to be transported to Brisbane due to the blackout.

Outside of saving her son's life, Holmes' EV also powered her slow cooker to make mulled wine for a movie night and helped power their neighbors' fridge as well.

Other locals used their Tesla Powerwalls, rechargeable lithium-ion battery packs that can power an entire home, to help out their neighbors, per the report.

One local chemistry teacher named Matt McLaughlin, who had outfitted his home with one of these packs in addition to a photovoltaic system on the roof, only found out later that a blackout had even taken place.

"I wasn’t aware the power had even come back on when I woke up this morning," he told The Guardian.

More on electric vehicles: Toyota Put This Fascinating Photo in a Press Release About Electric Vehicles