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Our Angels in the sky
Thursday, 29 January
2004
Cleve man Colin
Kammermann received some relief from hours of travel to hospital in
Adelaide last Friday, and Cleve pilots Bryan Trigg and Paul Humphrys
helped a family reunite in Sydney on the same day as part of
Australian charity Angel Flight.
Angel Flight
is a not-for-profit charity with more than 500 pilots registered
across Australia, all of whom are keen to fly missions such as
these.
Pilots donate their skill and their
aircraft operating expenses to help people in need tackle the
tyranny of distance to receive non-emergency medical or humanitarian
help, which would otherwise be out of their reach.
Mr Kammermann was flown to Adelaide on Friday
morning by Gawler pilots Brad Wild and Warren Barrington for
treatment while Mr Trigg and Mr Humphrys flew the family of a
14-month old Ceduna boy, who is waiting for a liver transplant, to
Mildura.
Mr Kammermann received his second
kidney transplant last year but unfortunately his 'new' kidney is
not working effectively and he needs to travel to the Royal Adelaide
Hospital every week so his condition can be monitored.
Already weakened by the disease and the stress of
the failing kidney, the overnight journeys by bus to and from
Adelaide were taking their toll.
After two
nights without sleep, Colin returns home from Adelaide physically
drained through a lack of sleep combined with the obvious trauma
caused by his present situation.
But thanks
to Angel Flight, he can now be returned to and from Adelaide in just
a few hours and on the same day.
"I'm really
grateful to Angel Flight for helping me in this way," Mr Kammermann
said.
"When I saw the Angel Flight on TV I
thought it was only for children and didn't realise they could help
me, so when I heard that it is for people like me I could hardly
believe it."
He was returned to Cleve Friday
afternoon with Angel Flight pilot Trevor Davis from Port
Augusta.
Bryan Trigg and Paul Humphrys each
flew two members of the Kaehne family to Mildura, Victoria, where a
Melbourne-based Angel Flight pilot then took the family onto
Sydney.
These flights enabled the Kaehne
family, whose son is awaiting a liver transplant in Sydney, to be
reunited absolutely free.
The only other
alternative was a two-day journey by road, an extra burden on Taij's
dad, Kirk, his two older brothers, Jye (3) and Brayden (9) and their
grandmother Marion who is travelling with them.
Not knowing when a donor liver will become
available for Taij, it could be many months before the family will
be able to return to their home in Ceduna.
Both Cleve pilots were eager to join the Angel
Flight charity and will help out whenever they can.
"The story of Taij really touched me," Mr Trigg
said.
"I have a healthy nine-month-old
grandson, and I can't help but think about little Taij and what he
must be going through.
"You've just got to
do what you can, don't you."
As for Paul, he
too couldn't wait to take his aircraft on the ‘mission'.
"I have a passion for flying and enjoy sharing the
experience with those who don't normally have the opportunity to fly
in a small plane," he said.
"Being able to
help this family is an added bonus, and it is a real pleasure for me
to be able to do this."
For more information
on the charity, look on the internet at
www.angelflight.org.au
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