A BIT OF HISTORY: Following nearly two years of development and coordination with Guyana's Ministry of Health and Department of Civil Aviation, Guyana Adventist Medical Aviation Service was formed in mid 1996. Its volunteer staff began with a husband/wife team of Registered Nurses. The husband, a professional pilot, currently serves as the organization's

Kaikan celebrates plane arrival

Director. They were soon joined by a second and then a third volunteer team of husband/wife medical/education specialists. An experienced Guyanese educator serves as the Assistant Director.

THE AIRCRAFT: As part of its feasibility study, a small 2-seat aircraft was acquired and highly modified for bush operation by the addition of a large engine, special STOL wing conversion, and tailwheel modification. This initial aircraft, flown by the Director, arrived in Guyana on June 27 of this year. It was inaugurated at Ogle Aerodrome on July 12, and is currently serving full-time in the region. It will continue in service until a permanent 4-seater high-performance aircraft is acquired within a year.

FLIGHT SERVICES OFFERED: On its arrival, the plane began providing services to residents of Kaikan, expanding soon after to offer the same to the villages of Paruima, Kamarang, Arau, and Waramadong. Many flights

Severe malaria patient flown out to Ogle

are for disease prevention purposes only; providing education in areas of health, family life, drug and alcohol prevention, etc. Requests for mercy flights which are emergency medical evacuation flights for serious or life-threatening health problems are increasing. Many patients can be flown to nearby Kamarang which has a small hospital and medic, while some must be flown directly to Georgetown over 200 miles away. In cases where the patient is a child or is unconscious, an accompanying family member is usually transported also. A unique and very much appreciated part of this program is that after having recovered from a medical emergency, the discharged patient is then returned back to his/her respective village. The re- opening of long-closed runways at Arau and Waramadong by the CAD was a direct result of these villages working hard to clean up the runways in order to have access to our aviation services.

FLIGHTS PERFORMED: During this last month, 8 mercy flights were performed into Kamarang. These included an older patient with a snake bite to the arm out of Paruima accompanied by his daughter, a miner with severe back pain out of Kaikan, an advanced case of malaria out of Kaikan, and an 8 year- old boy with a large snake bite to his foot out of Arau accompanied by his father.

Mercy flights into Ogle airport in Georgetown during this same time period were 7 in number. These included a young father with an advanced case of malaria out of Kaikan, a post-partum mother in a state of unconsciousness due to advanced

Post-partum malaria patient Med-Evac

malaria. She was accompanied by her husband, also with malaria. Other mercy flights included the transportation of a lady from Kaikan with uncontrolled diabetes and her daughter, and an older man with an inguinal hernia. A successful surgery was voluntarily performed at Davis Memorial Hospital by the Chief Medical Officer, and the patient was transported back to his home in Kaikan.

In addition to mercy and disease prevention flights, some flights are performed for service only. On any flight already scheduled, available empty seats are offered to anyone desiring to accompany the plane to its destination. Other flights are performed by special request where only the fuel spent is recovered. Flights of this type include two GDF soldiers to Georgetown in empty seats, one special flight to retrieve a GDF medic from Paruima, and the transportation of small children and older folk across the mountains between villages.

AN INSIDE VIEW: How would you feel to be the parent of a small child who had recently suffered a severe snake bite, knowing that snake bites require immediate treatment, but that the nearest hospital is three days walk across the mountains to Kamarang? Hopeless desperation is what the father of little 8 year-old Daniel Vera felt when Tuesday evening,

Eight year-old Daniel and his father ready for Med-Evac flight to Kamarang

August 26th, his little son was suddenly bitten by a large snake outside the village of Arau, 13 miles North of Kaikan. His wife was out of town, and he felt sure the boy's mother would not see him alive again. Then someone remembered that the new runway near the village had just been officially opened just a few days before. Having yet no radio in the village, two strong runners volunteered to make the all-night, 9-hour walk to Kaikan to request the immediate services of the plane.

Arriving at 7:00 am, they came my house to let me know of the emergency. By 7:30 the plane was in the air, touching down seven minutes later on Arau's runway. The father was standing there with Daniel in his arms. The child's left leg, swollen and painful, was wrapped with a torn cloth as a sort of tourniquet. The hemotoxic effects of the snake venom were evident as Daniel was already bleeding from his gums. As I took the boy in my arms, placed him in the plane and buckled him in, the father began heaving as tears poured down his cheeks.

Calling the villagers together, we had a special word of prayer, asking God to intervene on Daniel's behalf and save his life. Knowing that no antivenin is available in Guyana, I knew it would certainly take a miracle to save the boy's life. Before takeoff I promised the father to return for him in a few minutes, and with that I was off to Kamarang. As we flew across the mountains, I looked down at Daniel who was staring out the window. He had never been in a plane before. As I picked up the microphone of the HF radio to update Kaikan on my trip, I was suddenly overcome with emotion so that I could hardly talk. What if Daniel would have been one of my sons? How would I feel about his future? My voice betrayed how I felt to those at home, where I was told later, tears had flowed too.

At Kamarang, I taxied the plane to the far end of the runway where the hospital is located, and carried Daniel in. He grimaced in pain each time his leg was moved. The nursing staff was very kind, and immediately prepared a bed for him and started an IV. They advised me that they were short on antibiotics, so I promised to return with some from Kaikan. I then flew back to Arau, and picked up the father. Calling ahead by HF I arranged for some oral and IM antibiotics to be waiting at the runway in Kaikan. I made a quick stop to pick the meds up and then flew to Kamarang with the father.

During the next 3-4 days, we kept abreast by radio of his condition. After the 4th day, it became clear that he was going to pull through and informed the family in Arau of his improvement. On Monday, the 8th of September, I had the privilege of flying a smiling father and son back to Arau where the whole village was waiting. Everyone gathered together as we thanked God for sparing Daniel's life.

What is Guyana Adventist Medical Aviation Service all about? Our Mission Statement below puts it in the following words.

To follow the biblical command to "love your neighbor as yourself" by improving the standard of living of residents in Guyana's hinterlands through the use of non-commercial aviation to provide health education, access to regular professional medical care, and emergency medical transportation services.

[Special Prayer] [Home Page] [News / The Flight Log] [Children's Corner] [Life on the Frontlines] [Current Projects] [Service Opportunities] [Web Page Links] [How to Reach Us]

---