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| News / Public Benefit Aviation |
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| Angel Flight's First Respite Flight | | By admin |
| Friday, June 12, 2009 12:00:00 |
Clicks: 811 |
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Angel Flight's First Respite Flight
Friday 12th June 2009
Official Press Release
Following the postponement of Angel Flight?s first Respite Flight in May due to bad weather, this special flight took place on Friday 12th June 2009. This flight launched an exciting new initiative aimed at providing some of Angel Flight?s most needy passengers with the opportunity to take time out from their normal routine of hospital visits, and to hopefully experience some relief from the stresses associated with chronic illness.
The recipients of the first Respite Flight was a single mum accompanied by two of her three children, one of whom is her three-year-old daughter who suffers from Osteogenesis Imperfecta [OI], also known as ?brittle bone disease?. Together with the children?s grandmother, the family were flown from Armidale to the Gold Coast for a long weekend of relaxation and fun in the sun. Angel Flight?s Chairman and Founder Bill Bristow AM was the proud pilot for this very special flight.
Mr Bristow said that with the introduction of ?Respite Flights? those most in need would have the opportunity to have a short period of rest and relief.
?During the last six years we have coordinated more than 7000 non-emergency flights for financially and medically needy people living in rural and outback Australia. During this time, the Angel Flight team has been brought into close contact with many people doing it tough over a long period of time with no break from physical, emotional and financial stresses,? Mr Bristow said.
?The idea for Respite Flights came from one of our Mission Coordinators, Geoff Marsh, who, like the rest of our team, was touched by the heart-rending stories of carers and patients who had become regular passengers with Angel Flight due to chronic ill-health.?
Angel Flight plans to conduct a minimum of six ?Respite Flights? a year from and to destinations all over Australia. The Angel Flight Mission Coordination team will nominate recipients from regular Angel Flight passengers who they consider to be in desperate need of a break. Decisions on flight destinations will depend on the location of the selected recipient as well as their interests and circumstances.
?Whilst Angel Flight will take responsibility for funding ?Respite Flights?, we will be relying on the help of our volunteer pilots and drivers to transport passengers to and from their chosen destination,? Mr Bristow said.
?In addition, we will be seeking complimentary or concessionary help from accommodation and entertainment suppliers wherever we can. I am pleased to say that for this first ?Respite Flight? we have received much appreciated support from the Paradise Resort at Surfers Paradise and from Sea World.?
A very grateful recipient of this first ?Respite Flight? is Sarah, who hasn?t had a real break with her family for as long as she can remember.
?My last real holiday was in 1987 and over the last twelve years or so I haven?t been able to get away as a family even for a short time, so this is very exciting and we are all looking forward to it. It?s just fantastic that this time we will be getting on a plane and not going to a hospital to get help for Lotus,? Sarah said.
And getting on a plane to go to hospital has been a regular occurrence for Sarah and daughter Lotus since the little girl was born three years ago with brittle bone disease, which is a genetic disorder characterized by fragile bones that break easily. In fact, to date they have flown 46 times with Angel Flight to and from Westmead Children?s Hospital for on-going treatment and surgery.
?When Lotus was born the midwife noticed that her limbs looked a bit different to other babies and she was diagnosed with OI when she was two weeks old,? Sarah said.
?When my little girl was first diagnosed, I knew about OI because I had seen how it affected Quentin when I saw him on Television and I was devastated, but I feel a lot better about it now. For the first week I just sat around crying, but then you just have to do what you have to do don?t you.?
And doing just what she has to do has been the story of Sarah?s life day and night as she has tried to cope, not only with protecting and nursing Lotus, but also with being a single mother, with two other children, a son [12] and another daughter Aurora [9].
?So far, Lotus has had about 30 broken bones, mainly in her legs but she?s also suffered breaks in her ribs and vertebrae and each time she has a break I have to get her to Westmead and this is where Angel Flight has been so wonderful. I don?t know what I would have done without their help. I suppose the only alternative would have been for us to move closer to the hospital and that would have been a big upheaval for me, as I have some family support here and prefer the Armidale lifestyle for my family,? Sarah said.
?At the start I felt as though I was having a mental breakdown, but I guess I really love Lotus so much I don?t have any choice but just get on with it. What else can you do when something like this happens in your life? I suppose I?m really quite stubborn by nature and won?t give up!?
Again, Sarah?s determination to do what she has to do comes through loud and clear despite the hardship and heart-wrenching emotions she must feel when Lotus breaks yet another bone.
?I always know when she?s had a break as she makes a certain cry and sometimes I hear a snapping noise. It hurts so much she knows what to do and just holds herself in a certain position and then waits for me to bandage her in a special way ready to go to the hospital,? Sarah said with obvious deep compassion and concern for her little girl.
?Most times, if it?s a crack rather than a break, I manage her at home by making her comfortable with pain relief medication before bandaging her, then it?s about six weeks of keeping her as still as possible during which time I spend time reading to her and playing with her.
?Despite what she has gone through, Lotus is very cheeky and really very intelligent for her age as well. Everyone thinks she?s really cute and she melts hearts wherever she goes.?
Sadly Lotus needs a lot of protection from well meaning people who would love to pick her up or play with her, as being picked up the wrong way or too hard a push during play could result in more broken bones.
?I try not to wrap her in cotton wool too much, and there have been a lot of ?my hair standing on end? occasions, but I try to give her as much freedom as possible but at the same time have to be careful of people who don?t know anything about her condition and want to pick her up,? Sarah said.
?It can be difficult, but she has been getting stronger. She gets a monthly infusion of Bisphosphonates, which is a medication that makes bones thicker, and for the last twelve months she hasn?t had any broken bones in her legs. At the end of those days when there have been no broken bones, as I put her to bed I say ?good, another day that she?s been OK?. ?
Sarah explained that just over a year ago, Lotus had surgery to have a telescopic rod placed down the centre of her femur bones to help straighten them and give them strength.
?The telescopic rods will grow as she does and I think that this procedure surgery has helped Lotus enormously,? she said
Hearing Sarah?s story, it is obvious why this family was chosen to make this historic first Angel Flight Respite Flight and they couldn?t be more excited.
?As I said, getting on a plane that isn?t going to a hospital is wonderful and Lotus loves planes. Even when there is turbulence she just giggles whilst I see my life flashing before me,? Sarah said with a laugh.
?When Geoff phoned me from Angel Flight to offer me the chance of going to the Gold Coast I could hardly believe it. It was such a fantastic surprise and after I put the phone down I just jumped around the room I was so happy and could hardly wait to tell someone about it. I was so happy. The Angel Flight team is wonderful and I?m constantly amazed at how the coordinators handle the challenges of pulling flights together. I just can?t thank them enough for everything.?
Sea World donated a family pass for Sarah to use on Saturday 13th June and Lotus headed straight for Sesame Street Beach.
Source: Angel Flight (Australia)
http://www.angelflight.org.au/media/respite_pr.cfm |
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