Dear All,
Just a short update of last weekend's
activities and to prove that life is never dull.
We got a call late on Thursday regarding
flying a coma patient from Nelspruit to Nampula in the north of Moz. We had
to be really inventive to get the flight to happen because the fuel
situation is still dire. Basically there was fuel in Maputo, the capital, in
the south, and fuel in Pemba in the very north. Between the two is five days
driving or, fortunately for us, six and a half hours flying. Problem is, the
aircraft's range is about six hours so we had to make a plan. After many
phone calls that plan ended up involving a Mission Aviation Fellowship
friend of ours, three oil drums, some of his fuel and a slow hand pump. The
plan was a good one although executing some of it in a warm Mozambican night
was uncomfortable.
Importantly the patient was delivered and the
plane was met by about 100 friends and relatives when we landed.
The following day on the return journey we
also had a spot of bother with one of the engines that required an
immediate return to our place of departure. Two hours later we had fixed the
problem, put things back together and were off again This all meant though
that we were late leaving Moz and had to fly the last two hours in the very
dark.
Well, I'd just written the above last night at
half past nine when the phone rang - as it does. It was Ricky, the paramedic
again asking if we could evacuate someone out of Inhambane on the east coast
of Moz first thing the following morning. Cathy and I spent the next two
hours at the hanger phoning for permits and getting the plane ready, and
this morning I was airborne just after dawn. The only thing we knew from the
local doctors was that the patient was a young lad who had a very high blood
pressure. Ricky did some tests on the way back and there is a good chance
that the lad has Meningitis, so likely a very timely flight.
Next week we have some friends visiting us
from the UK for a couple of weeks, so hopefully we'll be able to relax and
spend some quality time with them
Thanks
Paul and Cathy
