Happy Holidays from MedFlight911 Air Ambulance

I always like to take some time during the holiday season to reflect on the year that has almost gone by, the moments shared, memories made. As providers of emergency and non-emergency air medical transport service, we meet people at particularly fragile points in their lives – and I mean that for both patients and for their families.

Most of our patients and their families are scared and stressed. When we not only transport them to where they need to go, but also provide a seamless service that relieves a lot of their fear and stress, we make friends for life. It is for these kinds of relationships that I do what I do here at MedFlight911.

So I thought today it would be appropriate to share some stories (many I’ve shared here before in the blog) that are particularly heartwarming, triumphant, or simply reflect the power of the human spirit.

The absolutely heart-wrenching story of Sophie’s Mommy, Kimberly Alvarez, who survived an amniotic fluid embolism while giving birth to her first daughter, but suffered severe brain damage as a result. We flew Kim in an air ambulance to a specialized traumatic brain injury rehab facility in July then fought to get the insurance company to cover the cost of the transport, which they finally did. Kim is still working hard to recover; our thoughts and prayers are with her, Sophie, and the entire family. Read more of Kim’s story here

The story of Aunt Frances, who we flew in an air ambulance from New York to Ohio the day after her 88th birthday. Aunt Frances’ story was graciously shared with us by her niece Elizabeth, who relayed to us how much it meant to Frances and to her family to be together during the last year of Frances’ life (she passed away in the fall). This is part of what Elizabeth had to say: “We were blessed to have the opportunity to share this part of Frances’s journey, even the hardest days, and I want to thank you once again for everything you and your colleagues did that made it possible. It really is comforting to know that help appears when you need it most, from strangers who become friends.” Read more of Frances’ story here

There there’s the story of Jim, the MedFlight911 commercial medical escort whose set Murphy’s Law in motion when, waiting in line for a flight from Florida to Omaha to meet a patient who was travelling to Bulgaria, Jim rushed to the aid of a man who was in cardiac arrest on the jet way. That caused him to miss his plane, which meant he needed a last-minute medical fit-to-fly information form (MEDIF) change because the airline sent the oxygen concentrator he was carrying for the patient to another destination. The day ended with a six hour search for an appropriate facility to take the patient in Bulgaria. Going above and beyond doesn’t begin to describe Jim’s service in this story. Read more of Jim’s story here

While some of the stories we share are in part sad, they are all at the same time uplifting, heartwarming stories of the power of family and the triumph of the human spirit. To me, that’s what the holidays are really all about. So from our family to yours, Happy Holidays.


Excerpt
As providers of emergency and non-emergency air medical transport service, we meet people at particularly fragile points in their lives. When we not only transport them to where they need to go, but also provide a seamless service that relieves a lot of their fear and stress, we make friends for life. It is for these kinds of relationships that I do what I do here at MedFlight911.