SwampFox

Local Pilot Volunteers to Fly 2 Year-old Patient to Shriner's Hospital In Greenville

Submitted by: Lara Kaufmann on Apr 26, 2011 at 11:48 am Tagged with: Aviation, Healthcare, Hospital Source: Greenville Downtown Airport

"William Glisson suffered a stroke, while he was being born, two years ago," stated Matt Kappel, a local attorney who volunteers to pilot Angel Flight missions. "William's stroke caused a variety of complications that have impaired his ability to speak and walk", Kappel said. "Now his feet are developing improperly and the Shriner’s Hospital in Greenville, SC is evaluating him for surgery," Kappel added.

"William and his parents, Travis and Shannon Glisson, live in Greenville, North Carolina, which is about 80 miles east of Raleigh," according to Kappel. "They would have had to drive William 7 hours to get to Greenville, SC and 7 hours to get him back home," Kappel added.

"William's mom told us that William has a very hard time riding in cars and when they took a trip last Thanksgiving, he cried the whole time," stated Bo Bowman, Branch Director for Angel Flight's South Carolina office located in Greenwood. "Shannon said that he was much calmer in the plane and the flight took less than two hours," Bowman added.

William arrived at Greenville Jet Center, which is located at the Greenville Downtown Airport, a little after 11 am today. "He had an appointment at Shriner's at noon. Greenville Jet Center volunteered his ground transportation. When he was finished I flew him home", stated Bowman, who is also a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight Soars.

"William is the first Angel Flight patient, coordinated by the local South Carolina office, to be taken to the Shiner's Hospital in Greenville," according to Bernadette Darnell with the Angel Flight Soars Headquarters office in Atlanta.

"My mother who lives in Atlanta would always send me news clippings from the Atlanta newspaper. On a couple of occasions, my mother sent me articles about Angel Flight and Mac Secord who lived across the street from me when I was growing up. As a cancer survivor I was intrigued with the idea of volunteering for Angel Flight and three years ago, I started volunteering to fly for them," added Kappel. "I try to fly 3 or 4 times a year for Angel Flight," Kappel stated.

Qualified pilots can visit Angel Flight Soars website (www.angelflightsoars.org) and view the upcoming missions that are in need of a pilot. Volunteer pilots not only donate their time, they also donate the use of their plane and the fuel, which is no inexpensive matter with the fuel prices we have seen lately, Angel Flight is a 501 (c) (3) organization and is proud to have been named on the “2010 Angel List” by the SC Secretary of State . The organization relies entirely on donations to help cover the costs of mission coordination, community education and pilot recruitment.

Angel Flight provides free air transportation for people that have a medical need that can’t be filled in their local area. Angel Flight serves primarily patients who are traveling from, to or through the states of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. Our organization believes that the cost of travel should never stand in the way of receiving medical care. Therefore, our "angels" will take flight to get people to the hope of lifesaving treatment and all of our services are free! For more information about Angel Flight, please visit www.angelflightsoars.org or contact Bo Bowman at 864-554-3198 / 864-992-8998 / Bo@AngelFlightSoars.org .

Volunteer pilot Matt Kappel is a local family law and defense attorney. For more information about Matt Kappel, please contact him at mkappel@kappellaw.net or (864) 467-9595.

For more information about Greenville Jet Center visit www.greenvillejetcenter.com or contact Hank Brown at (864) 235-6383

For more information about the Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU) visit www.greenvilledowntownairport.com or contact Joe Frasher at Joe@GreenvilleDowntownAirport.com or 864-242-4777.