Chief Pilot Update - June 2014

From our Chief Pilot, Rob (warning: technical, aviation chit-chat to follow):

"I was originally expecting to fly up to Cameroon for the 100hr inspection in early June but several important flight requests by the hospital delayed that until the 9th.  One of the biggest challenges was that several wires in the guest house shorted out and the downstairs was operating with very limited electricity. I flew Paul (Bongolo maintenance manager), Keir (Bongolo Medical Director) and his son up to Libreville on a Friday and spent Friday shopping with Paul for electrical supplies.  I returned with another passenger on Saturday while they continued working and were able to finish early the next week. I was able to combine their return flight with other flights and bring them back.

"The inspection in Cameroon was really intense, but...   Read More...

The Phone Rings

4:20pm EST,  30 June 2014 

The phone rings…

 

Lab- “Mister Straw?  This is the York Hospital lab.  Mister Straw, how are you feeling?”  

So, typically, in the US, it’s been my experience that personal medical news flows pretty much just between you and your family doctor.  You’re sick- you go tell your doctor.  Your lab tests are in- your doctor calls you to discuss the results.  That’s how it goes.  So, for the lab, itself, to bypass protocol, it raises an eyebrow, to say the least.

Me- “Uh, okay, I guess, thanks.  And you?” 

Truthfully, I had not been doing all that well.  Bad headaches and increasingly bad fevers had been part of my nightly routine for the past 9 days.  However, I figured the person on the other end of he line knew that things weren’t going well for me and might have a name for it now.

Lab- “Well, mister Straw, we have some more test results and we’re going to need to see you soon.”

Back to the hospital?  Ugh.  Didn’t I already do that?  Besides...   Read More...