Lucas’ Story
For some of our families we are truly a means of hope. Lucas Hembree is a young boy with Sanfilippo syndrome, a tragic genetic disorder. Born apparently healthy and developing normally, he began to lose speech, hearing, sight, and motion and will continue to fail and suffer through a drastically foreshortened life. As of yet there is no cure, but we were able to fly him from his home to a promising clinical trial at the Chicago Children’s Hospital that offers at least some hope for a better life for Lucas and research that may be of even greater benefit to other children enduring this heartbreaking condition. Lucas must travel with a feeding tube in place, with oxygen, with specialized medications, with a custom wheelchair, and with a sixty-five pound guide dog that accompanies him everywhere. Imagine how difficult that might be in the security-conscious world of commercial aviation. We met Lucas and his parents at their home airport, walked them ten steps to our airplane, loaded their medical equipment, seated Lucas next to his beloved dog, Juno, and flew them directly to Chicago. There, we drove them to their lodgings at the Ronald McDonald house.
“You guys were the best. In spite of the weather issues this was one of the least stressful treatment trips that we have ever taken. We had so much fun with you all. Thank you so much for all that you [have] done for us.”
