Testimonials

It is unfortunate that great works such as this often do not get properly covered in the secular news media, but we wanted to extend a sincere thank you to everyone at Kalitta Charters from those of us who cherish, respect, and support life at all levels, and also happen to be hard-core drag racers.

Go Team Kalitta!

Regards,

Within a day, my life changed forever. I was in the hospital waiting to meet my newborn baby and bring him home. The day after he was born, it was discovered that he had a serious congenital heart defect and needed surgery across the country. Suddenly our lives were turned upside down and there was so much uncertainty. As I sat terrified next to his isolette waiting for our air ambulance crew to arrive, all I could do was trust the fact that the people taking care of him were going to keep him safe. Luckily, that fear was put to rest as soon as the team from Kalitta MedFlight arrived. From the moment they arrived, they explained everything to me as if I was a member of the team so I knew exactly what was going to happen and how. The team was so professional and confident. By the time we left the hospital, they knew his complete history. I was amazed at how protective the team was of my son as their patient. After arriving at the airport, I was greeted by the pilots with courtesy and they also immediately eased my fears by answering all the questions I had without me ever having to ask. The flight was amazingly smooth and my son had a very skilled nurse and respiratory therapist watching his every move. They kept me informed the entire flight of what they were doing and why. The most impressive thing was the experience they brought along with them, knowing how a flight across the country and the high elevation levels affects a patient. They knew what was typical and what constituted an emergency. The pilots continuously gave updates on ETA and weather conditions, which means the world to someone who’s staring at the seconds ticking by! We arrived in Boston exactly when they said we would. The team coordinated with the ground ambulance to make sure they were waiting for us at the airport to take us to the hospital. The team never leaves your side and when you arrive, they give a report to the hospital crew, reaffirming to you as the parent that they were extremely knowledgeable and in control the entire time.

After 8 medical flights between Baton Rouge, LA and Boston, MA, I can consider myself a veteran! Being the mother of a chronically ill child, you learn so much about how critical care works and what deserves praise and what does not. Let me assure you, Kalitta MedFlight deserves every praise and accolade. In my experiences, I know what can go wrong when you are at 40,000 ft. After so many flights with Kalitta, I know with every bit of certainty that the team was and is ready to handle any emergency that could happen in-flight. Whether you are a first timer or a veteran, you are in excellent hands flying with the team from Kalitta MedFlight. I would recommend them with the highest regard and I trust them with my son Davis’s life, which is nothing I take lightly!

Sincerely,

On the day we found out we were expecting a child it was the most exciting day of our lives. The months quickly went by as we prepared for the arrival of our new addition that would make our family complete. Our son was in a breech position as I neared full term that set us on a path for a C-Section birth. The night before his birth I could not sleep, therefore, I went out onto our couch. As I lay there thinking about what tomorrow would bring I kept praying “I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me”. How little did I know how true those words would be over the coming years.

Morning arrived in which we were filled with excitement and anticipation of meeting our new son. Unfortunately our joy soon turned to fear and anxiety as we could sense something was not going well. The medical staff seemed very concerned and non-verbal following his delivery. Within hours of the delivery an attending physician was telling us that our son had “Trisomy 18” and that he would not likely live beyond a month and to “not get attached”. These words were cold, devastating, and at the time seemed to drain the life out of us.

The hospital immediately ordered blood work that would be sent off to Mayo Clinic to determine whether our son in fact had Trisomy 18. This process would take two weeks that seemed more like an eternity. This time passed and we received a call with the results back that thankfully ruled out the misdiagnosis. We were still cautioned to not get our hopes up too high as he still would not likely survive. As I stood next to the window while the doctor was stating this, I could see the clouds in the sky beginning to part. A rainbow began to appear as if God was letting me know that everything was going to be all right. This seemed to be a glimmer of hope at the time. We quickly called everyone we knew that was praying for us and asked that they keep praying for our son’s life as he was still not “out of the woods”.

We soon found ourselves taking our son to numerous specialists trying to find answers. As each month passed we would celebrate the occasion by throwing a birthday party for reaching another milestone. We were not taking anything for granted as we did not know how much time we truly had with our precious new son. Finally a year had passed and what a special day this would be celebrating an entire year. We gathered friends and family and truly enjoyed the day and yet that sinking feeling remained in the back of our minds that we did not know how much time we would have with our son.

Month after month our son endured procedures, complications and errors in his care that began to take a toll on our happy but frail son. Following a four-month stay in the PICU of our nearest children’s hospital, our son began to take a turn for the worse. A tracheotomy was necessary to help aid with our son’s breathing and allow him to adequately breath off his expelled carbon dioxide. We quickly gathered our closest friends and loved ones to pray and believe that “all things are possible to those that believe”.

We soon began to realize that our son needed another facility that was better suited to meet his needs and truly help him to get healthier instead of worse. Within a matter of weeks we prepared to travel out-of-state to another hospital that was better suited to care for our weakening son. Upon our arrival to this facility we were met with compassion, concern and a strong desire to help with our son’s urgent needs. Even though we knew we had a tough road ahead of us, we knew we had made the right move that would provide for a better outcome.

Our son stayed in the PICU for another 2 months along with an additional 4 months of outpatient visits. During this time he was placed on a medical formula, a portable ventilator, PT, OT and Speech therapy along with medications that began to set him on a new path. Unfortunately while things appeared to be improving the curvature in his spine that was present from birth was continuing to get worse, which posed its own set of complications.

Our son had been fitted around 4 month of age with a back brace that actually was making things worse in that it compromised his breathing. Because of the curve and twist in his chest wall cavity, his left lung and heart were being compressed as well as shifting all of his internal organs out of their normal position. Our son’s Cardiologist at the time stated that something would need to change and if not, his worsening condition with his chest wall was going to steadily impact his health up to and including costing him his life.

The Orthopedic Surgeon in charge of our son’s care at the time knew of a surgeon in Texas that had invented a Titanium Rib device that could be implanted into the patients’ back. This device would help straighten the severe curvature in our son’s back and thus reverse his worsening condition. This surgery was labeled as experimental and had yet to be approved by the FDA. Clinical trials and data were being gathered in hopes of eventually becoming approved. Children from across the country and around the world were traveling to this children’s hospital in Texas and getting healthy.

We started to research the history and outcomes of this surgery to find out more about it. We also reached out to other families that had already had these surgeries performed on their children and understand their comfort level with what they had experienced. Most importantly we sought guidance through God to find in our hearts whether this surgery was best for our son whom desperately needed for lack of a better term “more room to breathe”.

This surgery that we had been looking into has an abbreviation known as VEPTR, which stands for “Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib”. Simply put this titanium device is surgically implanted into the backside of the patient and attached to the rib cage as well as the spine or hip. This device is expandable over time and in a sense grows with the child by helping to straighten the spine and chest wall that in turn allows for more room to breath.

We did not want to put our son through surgical procedures that would not help him but rather cause him undo pain and suffering. We continued to pray for peace, understanding and direction as to whether we should go forward with these surgeries or not. This device would involve multiple surgeries that would span years until our son’s skeletal structure could reach its full potential somewhere in his mid to late teenage years. Eventually we began to have peace and trusted that this was the direction in which God was leading us.

With our son being ventilator dependent, traveling to a facility that was halfway across the country would require that he be transported via medical air flight. This would prove to some degree to be an uphill battle in that the surgery was still considered experimental and not likely covered by an insurance company nor the air flight as well. We pressed on and with the help of our state child coverage beyond our private insurance the surgery and flight would ultimately be covered.

Looking back at everything that had happened to this point, we began to realize that the quality of care and level of compassion made all the difference in the world. One of our son’s specialist stated this the best in that “when a child’s needs are complex in nature the outcome is dependent on the depth of the medical team”.

Kalitta Med Flight is that kind of team. For the past 8 years they have transported us to and from Texas every six months for the Titanium Rib surgeries. The crewmembers are compassionate, experienced and professional. Along the way we have shared a few tears as well as a lot of laughs. Kalitta has always put the needs of our family first and made us feel special.

We don’t just consider them an important part of our medical team but instead like family members. We want to extend our thanks and appreciation to everyone at Kalitta for their role in our son’s well being over the years. . We pray that God’s favor rest upon everyone at Kalitta.

If you find yourself in a similar situation we urge you to first go to prayer, second do your research and third seek out a company such as Kalitta. Don’t just leave your health care to chance but instead ask God to give you his best. And by the way, our son is now over 10 years of age. He is an avid reader, has a passion for drawing, loves music, NASA, NHRA and is involved in many sports.

As he gets older he wants to become an Astronaut, Doctor, Pastor and a chef. We couldn’t have asked for a better son. I leave you with these words;

Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

God Bless,