Flights of Compassion-Angel Flights

Have you ever heard of Angel Flights? I had heard the term and had a vague idea what they were, but never in a million years would I think I would need one or what turned out to be four round trips on them.

My brother, who was my caregiver, arranged them for me when I was going through my third relapse of follicular lymphoma, about to enter into a clinical trial for CAR-T-Cell Therapy after my stem cell transplant failed after six months.

Flying to get to treatments

Angel Flights is a program of pilots who offer flight service to cancer patients. It is a flight service available all across the country. If the hospital is too far a drive or a patient is too sick to withstand a car drive. The Angel Flight program is a great option. There is no cost to the patient. The pilots volunteer their time, their plane, and their flying expertise. You can fly out of your local airport and into a larger airport in the city where the hospital is located. From there, you can take an Uber or taxi to the hospital.

Now, these are not luxury corporate jets. They are three, four-seat planes. It is really easy to use as there is no TSA check-in on either end or very little. We just walked by on the way out of Boston with no checks whatsoever, tickets, or bags. We would walk through right out onto the tarmac with the pilot.

Free service that saved me from uncomfortable long drives

Once we squeezed into the plane, the pilot would give my brother and me headphones so we all could communicate and give us safety instructions, and off we went. I am located in Maine, and I was being treated about a ninety-minute drive south from my area. The plane ride was only thirty minutes down to Logan Airport, saving considerable time in the car.

Flying into Boston was really cool in the small plane, you are sitting right next to the pilot and can see everything. The pilots would park the plane among the corporate jets and we would walk in through the private terminal. When entering the terminal at Logan, there is a framed picture that says “Welcome to Boston” in the iconic Massachusetts Highway sign style and font. I grew up in Mass, so it always resonated with me.

I was preparing for the clinical trial and I was still battling reoccurring pneumonia since the stem cell transplant. There were multiple trips needed to the hospital to get ready. First to go through all the tests to see if I would qualify for the trial, then the apheresis process where they collect your T-Cells. Then back down for three days of preconditioning chemo to prepare my body for the CART T-cell infusion. I stayed in a hotel for the three days in Boston as the travel was too much while going through chemo. On the third day after I received my chemo I was allowed to go home to rest for two days before coming back to be admitted for the clinical trial.

Chemotherapy unpleasantness

Well, my history with chemo, and this was my fourth different type, was that on the third day, of each round, my body would show its distaste for the chemical intrusion, and I would projectile vomit like I never have in my life. I was very fortunate in that I knew my way around the plane terminal and the location of the bathroom. On the Uber ride over to the airport I began to feel queasy, I mean really queasy. As soon as I got out of the car I knew I was in trouble and there was no way I was not going to puke here at the airport. I knew the bathroom was not that far away, so I walked as fast as I possibly could praying I could make it, I busted through the door, made it to the stall without a second to spare and projectile vomited till there was nothing left to give, apologies for the graphic description. I was able to make it through the flight home without issue, though it was not a pleasant flight I was so grateful for the fast trip back home.

There was a different pilot for every leg of my trips back and forth. They were all very personable and truly seemed happy to be offering the service. I can’t thank them enough or say enough good things about the Angel Flight service that was really there for me in my time of need. It is a great unheralded program for cancer patients that is available to anyone in the cancer battle with a need for long distance transportation. You can find more information at www.angel-flights.com.