Angel Flight East gives no cost plane rides for health care patients

BANGOR, Maine — Angel Flight East is a nonprofit business that supplies absolutely free flights for patients in have to have of health-related therapy considerably from dwelling. This services is delivered by a network of volunteer pilots who use their possess airplanes and go over all expenditures of the flight.

Diane Messer, of Blue Hill, is battling persistent Lyme disease. On Thursday, a volunteer pilot from New York picked her up and flew her for free of charge to Jamaica Simple VA Health care Heart in Boston the place she will receive therapy.

Messer used 22 a long time in the Military as a helicopter pilot herself, flying lots of other folks to get vital medical care.

“In this case, I guess I compensated it forward. I took a great deal of people in Medevac journeys, and so I get to consider one,” Messer reported.

Messer explained her procedure centre in Maine ran out of choices for her.

“They eventually arrived to the issue in my community treatment method in Maine where by they explained, ‘We actually never have a take care of on this, we will not know what to do for you, so we are likely to send you to Boston,'” Messer defined.

Sitting down for hours and hours in a auto or bus to Boston was one thing Messer reported would be really unpleasant and challenging with the indicators she has. Luckily for us, pilot Michael Steele volunteered his time, aircraft, and gas to decide Messer up and fly her to Boston.

The act of kindness was organized by Angel Flight East.

“Just being ready to enable the people today, some of them are going by means of some genuinely tough healthcare occasions, and they’ve bought many treatment plans, and it’s seriously a load for them,” Steele mentioned.

Steele included that he enjoys having to pay it forward by traveling due to the fact traveling is some thing he loves.

“I experienced to get up at 5 o’clock this morning, I still left at 7:30. It truly is about a two and a 50 percent hour flight up here, program in detail the evening prior to, glance up the weather conditions,” Steele said of his scheduling for the vacation.

Thankfully, the vacation for Messer is saving her several bucks.

“It was really blessed for me. I got a get in touch with in fewer than a working day indicating you are approved and we already have a pilot!” she said.

Angel Flight East is based mostly suitable outside the house of Philadelphia but handles a 14-state footprint from Virginia to Ohio to Maine. Passengers are just required to be medically steady and ambulatory to board a smaller airplane. 

“There is no limit to the total of flights somebody can choose,” a spokesperson for the nonprofit told Information Heart Maine. “All of our pilots are demanded to have 300 hours of flight time, an IFR score, and accessibility to an airplane with at the very least 4 seats.”

To request a health care flight, you can get in touch with 215-358-1900 or ask for it directly at angelflighteast.org.