11-year old Transplant Patient CanÂ’t Fly Airlines Volunteer Flying Groups Link Up to Provide Critical Last Minute Flight FL GA VA NYC
Your child needs a transplant or he will die. However, you live in Florida and the treatment needs to be done in New York CityÂ’s Sloan-Kettering Hospital. Because his immune system is so vulnerable, you cannot risk it and fly on the airlines. You canÂ’t afford the costs to charter a plane and the drive would be too much for your son. What is a mother to do?
(PRWEB) June 6, 2005
An 11-year-old Melbourne Florida boy who suffers from a blood disorder will undergo a stem cell transplant later this month in New York even though this donor is not an exact match and the original donor backed out at the last minute. He leaves Melbourne Sunday June 5 at 9:30 AM on board a three leg trip that will cost him and his family nothing.
Ty Perkins is an orphan from Taiwan who was adopted last year. He suffers from Fanconi anemia and will die without a successful bone marrow/stem cell transplant.
Karen Magrath, TyÂ’s adoptive mother, was desperate to find a way to get Ty to New York for much needed treatments. She knew there had to be a way to save her son as he had already suffered way too much for a boy his age. Because of Ty's extremely compromised immune status due to progressive bone marrow failure, he is no longer allowed to be in close quarters with large numbers of people. This means he may not attend school, church, extra-curricular activities, sporting events, theme parks, etc. It also means he may not fly commercial airlines any longer.
This is where volunteer pilot organization of Tampa Florida called CAIR Flight, Inc. stepped into the picture. TyÂ’ originally needed a flight to New York City's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for pre-transplant testing earlier this year. Now with a donor located, he needs to be able to fly at a moments notice. He is scheduled to begin his journey in Melbourne on Sunday June 5, 2005 at 9:30 AM.
CAIR Flight executive Director, Rick Wachstein coordinated the 1100 mile trip with two separate groups, Angel Flight GA and Angel Flight EAST. The flight will consist of three stops originating in Melbourne Florida. CAIR Flight volunteer pilot, Gray Sample, will fly the first leg to Atlanta Georgia where an Angel
Flight GA pilot will continue on to Richmond Virginia. From Richmond, Angel Flight EAST pilot, Michael Peck will finish out the trip landing in Teterboro New Jersey.
Volunteer pilot organizations perform public benefit flying for health care, patient transport, disaster relief, environmental support, and other missions of public service. They can reach over 95% of the population with access to over 750 airports across the US. The availability of charitable, long-distance medical air transportation in the U. S. is growing rapidly. More than 41,500 patients and their escorts will be served during calendar year 2005. The best way to find an organization near you is to contact the National Air Transport Helpline at www. npath. org or the Air Care Alliance at www. aircareall. org. In Florida visit CAIR Flight at www. cairflight. org.
CAIR Flight, Inc.
Rick Wachstein, Executive Director
Tampa FL
813-690-6995
Www. cairflight. org
Angel Flight GA
404-314-3953
Http://www. angelflight-ga. org/ (http://www. angelflight-ga. org/)
Angel Flight EAST
Http://www. angelflighteast. org (http://www. angelflighteast. org)
610-220-2949
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