A BUSY WEEKEND - Roger

Sorry we haven't updated for a while and now I post another regurgitated post I was supposed to write for our web site..........................

Is there anything that could be labeled a “typical” day when doing mercy flights? I don’t think so, but following is a recap of my last weekend. I was just getting ready to sit down for dinner Friday evening when the first call came for a patient in Maun with a bad throat bleed that couldn’t be stopped. Since we could not make it home before the airport closed, we were planning on spending the night at Francistown. Upon landing after 10:00PM we got word that we had another flight to Ghanzi. Even though it would be a long night, at least the airport would now allow us to return home, since it was a mercy flight. Getting someone to place the portable runway lights in Ghanzi was being arranged and the fueler at Francistown had already been called, for after-hours fueling. By the time we fueled and confirmed the portable runway lights were going to be ready in Ghanzi, the two paramedics had returned from delivering the patient to the hospital. There was blood all over the aircraft and it took quite a bit to clean up, but in a short time we were on our way. Tonight the lights were spaced nicely on the runway (not always the case) and we landed, loaded up our patient, and were airborne just after 1:00AM. After “putting the aircraft to bed” and going home and getting a quick bite to eat, I crawled into bed at 4:30AM ready to crash.

Saturday the aircraft had to be fueled and prepped, but was otherwise quiet and I fortunately got a good night’s sleep and went to church. After eating lunch when I am on first call I always try to rest in the afternoon, because one never knows how long the night will be. I went to bed and read about 3 minutes when the call came for a premie born earlier that day in Maun and needing to get to Francistown. We got the paramedics, loaded the incubator, and headed to Maun. After getting the baby to the hospital at Francistown we had enough time to home, and landed at Gaborone about 15 minutes before 10:00PM, when the airport closes. I got home, got a bite to eat and again just crawled into bed at 11:40PM when the doctor from Kasane called and asked if we could do a flight that night. They had a critical patient and didn’t want to wait until morning. Why does the phone always ring just after I crawl into bed – maybe if I didn’t go to bed………? I told him I would talk to Mark and we would call him back. There were many things that had to be arranged. Airport openings at 3 airports, portable lights at Kasane arranged, fueling in the middle of the night (the aircraft got back late less than two hours ago and could not be fueled), and a decision made whether safety was not compromised because of a fatigued crew. After discussing things with Mark and talking to Ryan (the other pilot on call), we decided we would take the trip if all the arrangements could be made. Mark was having trouble getting the fuelers to answer the phone and asked if I could try to track somebody down to come in and fuel and he would work on the other arrangements. After several attempts I woke somebody up on their cell phone and they agreed to come out to fuel the aircraft. I notified Mark that Ryan and I were heading to the airport to fuel the aircraft and get ready to go while he worked on getting things organized. The paramedics were notified and on the way as well. We got the paperwork completed, flight plans filed, and the aircraft fueled and ready to go while Mark was working furiously on the arrangements – having real difficulty getting someone to put the portable runway lights out at Kasane. We were strapped in and ready to “push the button” – waiting for confirmation from Mark that there would be lights at Kasane. As soon as we got the okay, we were on the way, taking off shortly after 1:30AM. Everything was in order at Kasane when we landed and we got the patient loaded. Mark was up all night trying to make the arrangements and nothing was going very well for him. It must have been frustrating – he had the hard job that night. We wanted to land at Francistown at 5:30AM, but they wanted us to wait until 6:00AM which was the normal opening time. Again we strapped in and waited for word from Mark that somebody had agreed to come in and open the airport. After he confirmed the arrangements were finalized, we departed and landed at Francistown about 05:40, just as the sky was lightening, promising a beautiful sunrise, which we didn’t even care about this morning – we just wanted to get to bed. We dropped the patient at the hospital, and then took the ambulance to our rooms, stumbling into our beds about 6:45AM. I told Mark at what time we would be available for another mercy flight and this time I turned my cell phone off – if a call came in now there was no doubt we could not do it safely - they would have to wait or use another airplane?