Angel Flight Founder

[Guest guest]

I just wanted to see that the right person got credit for Angel Flight. As much

as Travolta is known for his garage of aircraft, he didn't or doesn't have

anything to do with this charitable enterprise. Here's the story, and if you

read it to the end, you'll see that he's no stranger to people with pancreas

problems.

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Angel Flight founder honored in New York

By Shona Crabtree

Eagle-Tribune Writer

NEW YORK -- Last night Larry J. Camerlin, founder and president of Angel

Flight New England, found himself in the spotlight with the chief executive

officers of Pfizer Inc. and F.A.O. Schwartz and entertainer Harry Belafonte.

At an evening ceremony in the F.A.O. Schwartz building, he received a

special 1999 Hines award for innovation in support of children from the

National Child Labor Committee, a private nonprofit group in New York City.

Angel Flight's Larry J. Camerlin is shown in this February 1998 photo with

9-year-old burn victim Dezeray F. Robbins of Bucksport, Maine. Mr. Camerlin,

51, runs Angel Flight, a network of pilots and volunteers who transport

patients to hospitals out of the Lawrence Municipal Airport.

''It's overwhelming,'' Mr. Camerlin said. ''It was an incredible evening.''

He also was unexpectedly asked to speak in front of a crowd of about 300

people.

''It was off the cuff,'' he said. ''I said all children have dreams and most

children have dreams of coming into this store and running wild. . . . Our

children dream of living.''

After the award presentation, during which he sat next to Mr. Belafonte, Mr.

Camerlin, his wife and four children headed to a formal dinner with other

recipients. They plan to tour the city before returning to Reading on Sunday.

''I said, 'Why did you do this? It's just so embarrassing,''' he laughed. ''She

said because you deserve it and because Angel Flight is doing a tremendous

service for the children.''

He admitted he had never heard of the award before but added it has been

received by luminaries like Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton. It is in its

twelfth

year.

F. Newman, National Child Labor Committee president and executive

director, said committee board members chose Angel Flight for a special

award designation because it is a model program in bringing people together

to help children. The committee also honored 10 volunteers and

professionals around the country for their work with children.

The organization helps people who cannot afford frequent plane trips or who

cannot withstand long car rides to their health care provider. Angel Flight

serves the six New England states, New York and New Jersey.

Mr. Camerlin, a former Franciscan monk, started it in 1996 after selling his

ambulance company. Last year Angel Flight did two flights a day. Now it

averages 10 or 12 trips daily, Mr. Camerlin said.

''We've had an explosion of flight requests because more people know about

it,'' he said.

But there are plenty of poignant stories that underscore the importance of the

service.

Last February, Mr. Camerlin said a 26-year-old man in Durham, N.H., needed

a kidney and pancreas transplant. Then one night the call came that organs

awaited him in Pittsburgh, Pa. The only problem was he had to be at the

hospital by 4 a.m. for the surgery, otherwise they would go to someone else.

His sister, a social worker, frantically began making calls for a flight only to

find there was no way he could get to Pittsburgh on time. She burst into tears

at her desk at work and was questioned by a concerned colleague.

Just that week, a New Hampshire newspaper had run a story about Angel

Flight which the colleague happened to have in her handbag.

Another round of calls began.

At the same time, Mr. Camerlin was on the phone talking to a pilot in New

York. Looking out of the window, he saw a shooting star flash across the sky

seconds before the call waiting beep. It was an Angel Flight worker calling to

inform him that the Durham man needed immediate transportation and no

pilots in the area could do the trip. Could he go?

The head winds were too strong for his plane to handle so he clicked back to

the New York pilot who had a plane better suited for the conditions. The pilot

was at the Manchester Airport by 9 p.m.

''Of course there were hugs and tears. It was extremely emotional,'' Mr.

Camerlin said.

And as the plane prepared to land in Pittsburgh at 12:45 a.m., a shooting star

lit up the sky for the second time that night. A waiting cab brought them to the

hospital by 1 a.m., in plenty of time for surgery.

''God really gave us a miracle that night,'' he said.

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Quite a story!

With hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

South Carolina

SC & SE Regional Rep.

PAI, Intl.

http://www.pancassociation.org/anthology.htm#Heidi

Note: All comments or advice are personal opinion only, and should not be

substituted for professional medical consultation.