Loving Care in the Air
(click here
to view escort photos)
It would be
wrong to say that they get no respect--they get lots of it!--but it’s
clear to us
that they don’t get enough attention. Let’s correct that
right now.
We’re talking
about our loyal, caring, indispensable Healing the Children escorts--the
people who put the two sides of our equation together. We live by this
formula: hurting
children plus volunteer doctors equals changing the
world, one child at a time. “Plus” is
where the escorts come
in--because if we can’t get the children to the doctors and then
back
home again, no healing will happen.
Our escorts, primarily American Airlines employees, are part of the Airline Ambassadors organization. Airline Ambassadors, founded in 1996, is a nonprofit group whose many charitable activities include escorting children like ours to and from their homes and the countries where they receive medical treatment. The ambassadors use their airline passes and their days off to accomplish these missions.
Margaret
Whitehead coordinates escorts for Airline Ambassadors. “These unsung
heroes are the ones who must pry a sick child from his mother’s arms and
comfort him
until he arrives in the arms of his host family. It
requires worlds of compassion and
patience. And, since 9/11, most of
these escorts have been required to take a pay
cut, which has made it
necessary for many of them to either fly more hours each
month or work a
second job. Yet they are still willing to use precious days off to
escort a sick child as she begins her journey to good health.”
The escorts
themselves tell us again and again that the sacrifice is more than
redeemed
by the rewards that flow from serving HTC children. Escort
Kirstin Perkins writes, “My
first escort trip was such an amazing
experience! Gary, who needed heart surgery, was the sweetest little boy
and such a good baby. The only time he cried during the entire trip was
when I handed him off to the host family, which, of course, brought me
to tears. The agents in Grand Rapids were great! They gave me a big
hug and had a little giggle as they told me that this happens every
time. They always end up putting a crying flight attendant back on the
plane to go home. Little Gary really touched my heart, and I couldn’t
wait to do another escort trip.” Elizabeth, age 7, was another child Kirstin escorted: “She was a burn victim headed for more surgery in
Detroit, and she was looking forward to staying with her original host
family. I speak very little Spanish and Elizabeth doesn’t speak
English, but that didn’t stop us from talking . . . all
day! I had
brought some coloring books, and Elizabeth would point to objects, I
would
tell her what they were in English, and she would reciprocate in
Spanish. We were
having so much fun I almost hoped she wouldn’t go to
sleep. What a brave little girl!”
Escort Donna
Kocian also had a memorable first trip, which she described in an email
to Margaret Whitehead. “I am back and still walking on clouds. I am
hooked. As I
escorted Angela from Detroit, I truly felt the day was one
in which we were in the palm
of God’s hand. When I got on the plane in
Santo Domingo to return to Miami, one of
the crew members said I was
‘radiant.’ When we were waiting in Miami, there was only
one chair in
the boarding lounge. Angela sat in my lap. She melted in my arms and
snuggled her head in the crook of my neck. I could feel her little
heart beating so
strong against me. I thought of her mom who put her on
the plane as a very sick little girl, not knowing much about where she
was going; just turning her over to so many strangers, trusting she
would come back alive and healed. I thought about the medical team,
their awesome efforts. I thought about the host family, taking her to
surgery, healing her, loving her. And how honored I was to have that
healthy little heart in my arms for that moment. Please call me
anytime. I will do everything I possibly can to help in any way.”
Thank you,
everyone--for giving your precious time, for coping with the tears and
fears
and diapers and bibs, for loving these children who whisk through
your lives for only a
moment, for helping us change the world, one child
at a time.
