On October 17, 2024, LifeFlight of Maine completed its 40,000th patient transport. Oliver White, who had a life-threatening congenital heart defect, was transported in a LifeFlight helicopter from Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital in Ellsworth to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Max and April White never expected their son’s first flight to […]
“We got a call from Boston Children’s that they had a liver for me, and I needed to go immediately.” – Phoebe Root
David Willis is no stranger to responding to emergencies. He’s volunteered as a firefighter for more than a decade. In 2020, he moved back to Bethel, Maine, from Vermont to take a new job as the Assistant Head of School for Finance and Operations at Gould Academy. He’s also the head coach of the Boys […]
Lee Malloy and Clarence Blanchard have been partners for more than a decade. They share a sense of adventure and have visited all 50 states. Their love for traveling led them to plan a three-month road trip to Newfoundland, Canada. They left their home in Litchfield, Maine, in August 2024, but they never made it […]
“I had to laugh, because I’ve been a helicopter pilot all my life, and it was the first time I flew in the back of a helicopter. I’m usually the driver.” ~ Bob Carr, retired U.S. Army pilot, former LifeFlight patient Most of LifeFlight of Maine’s patients do not remember the helicopter ride. Some will […]
Sunny Dilley was two days old when she flew in a helicopter from Bar Harbor to Bangor. Angela, her mother, remembers watching from the passenger seat of a car in the hospital parking lot as the aircraft lifted off. The helicopter quickly disappeared into the distance, and the car pulled out onto the street heading […]
This story appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of Dispatches. In an emergency, a strong and well-designed system saves lives. Much of the work happens behind the scenes long before an emergency call comes in, coordinating among services — EMS, fire, police, hospitals, and 911 dispatchers — so that when the need does arise, the necessary resources […]
“It’s time to go. The heart is good,” Eric Brasier needed get to Boston for surgery, and quickly.
“It was a feeling of relief that someone just knows what to do, especially in a rural area.” – Christina Dolan
“I don’t have any memories from Pen Bay or the ICU at Maine Medical Center, but I do have a memory of a helicopter noise.” – Cathy Lake
