Golden Knight Mike Elliot jumps in the Stars and Stripes

We call it Halos and Heroes. It’s an annual event held in a hangar that houses a breathtaking array of vintage aircraft and honors the sacrifices of great men and women who have nobly served their country. The “Halos” are volunteer Angel Flight pilots who transport patients in their own planes to specialized treatment and assume all the associated costs.  The “Heroes” are veterans–especially wounded warriors and their  families–who have paid a heavy price for the freedoms we enjoy. These pilots and warriors, invited guests and Mercy Medical Airlift staff members gathered on October 6 at the Virginia Beach Airport and Military Aviation Museum for an unforgettable evening as described through the images and words of this album.

by Bess Preddy, Student Intern

After 12 years of school, all of which I spent at Norfolk Academy in Norfolk, Virginia, I was eagerly awaiting my last summer before college. By the time it was April, I couldn’t think about anything but lying on the beach and spending as much time as possible with my friends before heading off to James Madison University in the fall.

When the brochures came out again for the Norfolk Academy’s internship program, it was the last thing I planned on doing. I had done an internship the summer before and really enjoyed it, but I just wanted to spend the summer taking it easy. However, 12 years of college prep school really makes you used to feeling busy, and I didn’t want to spend my summer bored, so I decided to apply and just see what would happen. Since I had already been working with Operation Smile for several years, and I knew that the nonprofit arena was what I was going to study in college, I decided to apply for an internship with Mercy Medical Airlift.

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by Candice Gindle

Editor’s note: Candice Gindle is serving as an intern this summer in the public affairs department. A rising junior at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Virginia, she is majoring in communications with a concentration in film, and she also enjoys writing. During her internship, Candice hopes to gain more writing and professional experience. In return, she hopes to make a positive contribution to Mercy Medical Airlift.

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“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” –Melody Beattie 

Before I started my internship at Mercy Medical Airlift, I didn’t really know the meaning of gratitude. I wouldn’t say I was a bad person. In fact, I know I wasn’t a bad person. I just didn’t realize how blessed I am to be living the life I have been given. I guess you could say that I took advantage of everything I have.

You see, when you are so busy with your own life, you forget to stop and think about all of the good things. I was so caught up with the duties of my everyday life that I never once gave thought to all of the things I should be thankful for. Simple things such as my health or not hurting for money never crossed my mind as “blessings.” Once I started my internship, my mindset did a complete 180.

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“It was hard not to stare” at the disfigured man who hid behind a mask and shopped at night. “Now, they have another reason to stare,” and the reason is an amazing one, according to the surgeon who spoke those words and who, with his medical team,  gave Richard Norris a new face that is marvelous to see.

March 27 was a momentous day at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) in Baltimore. I had the privilege of attending a historic news conference where Richard’s face was unveiled and medical aspects of the transplant explained.  With me were two Angel Flight pilots, Steve Craven and Don Garlow, and my husband, Wayne. As noted by Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and leader of the transplant team, the 36-hour surgery was the most extensive face transplant ever performed, making headlines around the world.  

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The trip to Disney World this week was far from typical. For one thing, the family of six traveled in two private planes. For another, the vacation was provided as a gift. And finally, it is likely that this is the last time the family as a whole will share happy moments together. That is because the mother and her daughter have terminal cancer. The flights to Orlando were Angel Flights. The vacation was donated by a nonprofit group, the Bucket List Dream Foundation.

Since 1998, Martha, 65, has battled ovarian cancer. It has now metastasized to her brain. Her 27-year-old daughter, Abby, was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer of a rare type. It too has spread to her brain and also her spine. If they were children, they would have been eligible for a Make-a-Wish dream vacation. But for older adults, specifically, those with terminal cancer, there’s no equivalent. That’s why Lennie Behe of Garner, North Carolina, started the Bucket List Dream Foundation.

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Sydney loves on Rooney, a certified seizure alert dog and devoted pet. Now 11, Sydney suffers from Dravet's Syndrome and ataxia, and has flown 14 times with Angel Flight to receive treatment at Children's Chicago Memorial Hospital.

2011 was an extraordinary year for Mercy Medical Airlift in terms of service. We provided assistance and charitable trips for 23,490 clients. Commercial airline flights numbered 9,714; Angel Flights, 832; air ambulance flights, 44; and Angel Bus, 1,802. The National Patient Travel Center processed 11,089 calls and emails.

Included in these figures are those for our military-related program, Air Compassion for Veterans (ACV).

From its founding in November 2006 until the end of December 2011, ACV provided 24,046 flights, and of those, 13,615 were  for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

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photo courtesy of G.WayneRhodes.com

I don’t know about you, but during the Christmas season I find myself to be more pensive than at other times of the year. The signs and symbols of the holidays surely lead to reflection:  evergreen trees fragrant with that wintry pine smell, outrageously gaudy lights competing in good fun from house to house, Nativity scenes, candles, carols, ribbons, elves—all of it year after year but never wearing out and, despite the secularization of the holiday known as Christmas, it will always and fundamentally be about God’s gift, Jesus Christ.

This brings me to the something else that moves me each year:  the outpouring of envelopes in the mail that comes each morning to our office, envelopes with generous checks of all amounts written with love in the memo to help people in need. I picture Mrs. Scotto at her kitchen table writing that monthly check or Mrs. Tucker clicking the give button on her computer in honor of her son, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. I picture the Rods and Cravens and Blands of this world, the Smiths and Forts and Joneses and Depasses and the countless other kind-hearted donors who are thinking about our patients, thinking about how hard their lives must be and what  it means to find hope in suffering. The checks come in day by day, each one a treasure, each one an extension of the great love that holds our universe together.

Thank you is a small phrase, but what other words do we have to praise the gift and giver?

Angel Flight pilot Ron Calugar handles a stretcher patient with tender loving care.

Our volunteer pilots past and present just can’t help piling up good deeds on top of their Angel Flight service. Here are just a few examples: 

Joe Federico (Virginia) volunteers for the American Red Cross as a CPR, first aid, and oxygen administration instructor. 

Richard Love (Virginia) cycled for years to raise funds in bike tours for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and pulled in over $4,000 toward research to find a cure for the dreaded disease. He is active in Rotary Club and raised money for schools in underdeveloped countries. 

John Clough (Pennsylvania) runs a health-food wholesale distribution business and does volunteer work to help anyone in need. “My whole life is dedicated to helping people,” he says. 

Paul Connor is an optometrist from Ohio who has donated his time and professional skill to provide eye care for residents of Kingston, Jamaica. He also trains locals to perform optical work and manufacture eyeglasses, which are sold at a minimal cost or given to clients unable to afford them.   

Rev. John Hoffmann (Virginia) has participated in numerous humanitarian endeavors. He flew medical missions in Tanzania and conducted assessment work of refugee camps in Kenya and Uganda. 

Ron Calugar, also of Virginia, has donated his considerable computer knowledge and ability to create databases for Angel Flight and other partner charities of Mercy Medical Airlift that increase efficiency and accuracy in the complex business of mission coordination.

Michigan’s Dick Lawrence founded Kid’s Wings, a medical flight charity that mainly helps children but also includes adults in need of access to medical treatment. He’s flown over 165 missions for this group alone!  Dick fills a special niche as a “pilot of last resort” in his region.  When the various coordinating agencies cannot find other volunteers, they will often contact Dick to see if he can do it.  He’s their “go to” guy in this area and tries to be available to respond on a moment’s notice. 

I could name many more pilots and many more feats of kindness but haven’t time or space to call them out. Richard Love, who retired his wings a couple of years ago, summed up the spirit behind the service of our generous pilots when he said, “Giving to others becomes pure joy.”