A Question Often Asked - ROGER

Flying medevac fights for the Botswana Ministry of Health has been a very fulfilling and worthwhile experience. Sometimes I’m asked about the most memorable mercy flight I’ve done. That is a very difficult question to answer. Usually when a mercy flight is requested in Botswana, the patient is in critical condition. For this reason there are times when the patient dies before we even land to pick them up, or while we are enroute to the referral hospital. Those are also memorable flights, but the flights that give a real feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment, are the majority of the flights that result in a person in dire need of medical care getting to a modern hospital in time.
I still get an adrenaline rush when the call comes for a mercy flight – the challenge of “making it happen”, and getting the patient to a hospital as quickly as possible; but at the same time doing everything in a manner where safety is not compromised in any form. Getting ready to launch requires a team effort by all four crewmembers (two pilots and two paramedics), as well as the flight coordinator who is busy making sure the all the necessary arrangements are made. While the flight crew preps the aircraft and gets the flight plans and paperwork completed, the paramedics are loading the necessary equipment and making sure everything required for the patient is working properly. The flight coordinator is making sure the airports stay open, if at night, and portable lights at some airfields are placed along the runway. He will be busy with calls and flight following for the duration of the flight.
After the patient is checked and the stretcher loaded onto the aircraft we are on our way as quickly as possible. Sometimes the paramedics are busy working on the patients, at other times when everything is stable, they are more relaxed. When a patient is onboard it is always nice to look back and see things “at ease”. When the paramedics are busy working on a patient, a sense of urgency is always felt.
After landing and the patient is moved to the waiting ambulance, it is with a sense of relief that the aircraft can be put to bed, unless of course another patient is waiting somewhere, which happens more often than you might think.
I have yet to find an equivalent experience that provides one with a feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction at the end of a day, like the feeling after a day of flying mercy flights. Knowing that you were part of a process that helped save a life – that’s all it takes to make this experience in Botswana very worthwhile.