By Candice Gindle, Intern (Virginia Wesleyan College)

For over half of his life, eight-year-old Justin has battled the pernicious disease called neuroblastoma. Prior to his diagnosis, then three-year-old Justin was complaining of leg and stomach pains, as well as running a fever. The doctors thought he had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, but on June 11, 2007, the boy was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma, which had already spread to his bone marrow. Neuroblastoma is the most common abdominal tumor seen in children, which develops from the tissues that form the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system controls body functions, such as heart rate and blood pressure, digestion, and levels of certain hormones.

Justin first started receiving treatment at St. Joseph’s in Tampa, Florida. He stayed there throughout the summer of 2007, but was soon transferred to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where he continues to receive treatment. Once a month, Justin and at least one of his parents must make the trip to New York for treatment from their home in Tampa. The round trip is over 1,000 miles long and would take nearly 20 hours to travel by car. The cost alone for this trip, by car or plane, would be much too expensive for Justin’s parents to afford on their own. This does not include the time it would take out of their work schedules and Justin’s school schedule to make the commute to his doctor’s appointments.

When Justin’s parents, Robyn and John, found out about Mercy Medical Airlift, a huge weight was lifted from their shoulders. With the help of Mercy Medical sending them vouchers from Southwest Airlines, Justin’s parents were now able to make the trip to and from New York once a month for their son to receive the best treatment possible. Also, they were able to keep their schedules free to work and for Justin to go to school.

Robyn says that Justin really enjoys his trips to New York because he and his father have a “set routine” while they are there, including staying at the Ronald McDonald House, eating at a nearby pizza place, and playing at a special park across the road from the hospital. While Justin has had a hard life, he is still able to shed some light on his situation.

Editor’s note: Candice is 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.

If you would like to partner with US Airways and Mercy Medical Airlift (MMA) to provide patients in need with charitable flights to distant, specialized medical facilities, we welcome you to the world of doing good.

Here’s one patient who has benefited from the gift of miles.

Armondre, age 12, suffers from brittle bone disease, a rare and painful disorder. For two years, he traveled with his mother on a train from their home in North Carolina to Montreal, Canada, for treatment at the Shriners Children’s Hospital. The long, two-day trip was “scary” and painful for Armondre, said his mother, Crystal. But the treatment isn’t available in the United States, so the trip was necessary. Fortunately, Crystal found MMA on the Internet, and MMA has been arranging flights for several years  using US Airways miles.

How it works

US Airways allows Dividend Miles members to donate miles to MMA in 1,000-mile increments. The company will match 1,000 miles, up to 25,000 miles, for every 5,000 miles donated to MMA.

To give to the Miles of Hope campaign, visit the US Airways website and designate y our donation to Mercy Medical Airlift. You’ll need to have your account number and password. Or, if you prefer, you can download this form, fill it out and mail it to MMA at 4620 Haygood Road, Suite 1, Virginia Beach, VA 23455.

The campaign ends on May 7, so please act now. And be sure to tell your friends and family.

Thank you for caring.

QUESTIONS? CALL MMA AT 757-318-9174.