AeroCare baby miracle mission
AeroCare Air Ambulance has released a video on a mission to fly a baby and his parents at no cost.
AeroCare Air Ambulance has released a video detailing a case where the Illinois, US-based fixed-wing provider flew a baby and his parents at no cost. Case Manager Jennifer Etzel-Elaqad recalls how it was a typical busy day when she suddenly received an urgent call from a mother in need. Erin, the mother of infant Reese explained her baby’s difficult medical condition and the dilemma she was facing.
Reese had an inoperable brain tumour and his healthcare could not be handled in his home state of Arizona. His case manager requested that Reese be put on hospice care, but Erin did not want to give up on him. She had done research and found a medical facility in Tennessee that was willing to treat Reese. He needed special medical treatment and transportation to the medical facility on the other side of the country, but Erin and her husband were not able to afford the air medical flight. They were hoping AeroCare could do something to help save their baby.
Hearing the couple’s plight, Jennifer reached out to owner and CEO of AeroCare Air Ambulance Joe Cece, who immediately agreed to do the flight at no cost to the parents.
From that point on, AeroCare took over. Jennifer and the other dedicated aeromedical case managers handled all of the logistics of the bedside-to-bedside medical transport, including setting up ground transportation on both ends of the transport, assigning the right flight nurse and flight medic, and organising all the details so the parents could focus solely on Reese.
The transport was a complicated; Reese was on ventilation, had arterial lines, a pic-line, and was connected to multiple medical apparatuses. However, the medical crew was able to safely transport Reese from the hospital to AeroCare’s base in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was loaded onto one of the company’s medically configured Learjets. He was flown to Tennessee where he received the life-saving therapy he needed.
AeroCare reported that Reese is doing well, his tumour has not grown and he continues to receive chemotherapy. He’s now one and a half years old and is developing normally.