a flying tale

Sudbury is a city in northern Ontario. Way North. When the deep freeze was here in January, Toronto temp was in -20'sC and Sudbury was in the -30'sC almost -40'sC, I think. This past week I have flown round trip for patient retrievals thrice now. It is a 45 miute flight with clear weather but conisderably longer if the weather is a not. Like today. I got woken up close to 7am to fly there with a team member. A five week old with a tachyarrhythmia unresponsive to adenosine and amiodarone. At the Toronto Island Airport, we were met by the flight crew (the pilot, his first officer and the air medic). We were told it was not the best weather. Hmmm.... The plane was tiny. Just three seats in the passenger cabin and an empty row for our 300 lb transport incubator and other equipment. The flight itself was smooth enough. Midway, the medic, who sat in the back with us, said that visibility in Sudbury was zero and we may have to land in an alternate airport. About close to an hour later, I felt the landing gear going down. I looked at the outside. Hmmm...it was all a white haze. Very thick cloud cover? I motioned to my partner who just woke from her nap. So, are we going to even attempt a landing? As I thought this, I felt the wheels hit land (thank you Jesus!). I swear, even though as the plane taxied on the runway, I could still not see much outside except for the thick white haze. I could not help but right then exclaim a thank you to the pilots. They were doing their own high fives. Apparently, there was another plane who attempted to land before us but aborted the landing as they had missed their spot for touch down. Whew! Now, the flight back is a whole different story. The short of it is, however smooth the flight coming in to Sudbury was, the trip going back to Toronto was a tad turbulent. With such a small plane, I felt every sway and bump. What's eerie too is to hear the propeller and the machine. I closed my eyes. Childhood memories flood into my mind. Paper airplanes. It sure felt like I was a passenger in one.

And I live to tell the tale...

small planes and the police car

My head is in a whirl.
I started my clinical service rotation for neonatal transport on the first of the month. What a first week.
I have been out on "runs" six times now. On two occasions, the venture was in northern Ontario so that we had to ride in a 6 seater plane...not the best thing in the world especially when there is a lot of turbulence in the air. Good thing, I was able to keep my insides in.
In another instance, the team was already out for a baby with a difficult airway, I was summoned in for assistance. The hospital was about a good 40-45 minutes away from the downtown Toronto core. So, how did I get to them in 25 minutes? Call for police assistance, of course. This was at 3 in the morning. As I approached the car, I said that I would not ride at the back. Who knows who and what has gone on in there. It looked pretty menacing. The patrol car "flew" on the hi-way 401 at 160 kph. The officer casually remarked about how fast we were going, looking sideways at me to check if I was alright. No sweat. Ahh..finally, someone who drives like a Pinoy!!
As he slowed in front of the hospital emergency room entrance to let me off (lights and sirens on), the ER staff jumped on to their feet...awaiting the worse, but then out came little me.
I write this now and I think, what awesome memories....