Patient Story: Oliver White
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 be in the back of a LifeFlight of Maine helicopter. As an airplane pilot for the Maine Air National Guard, Max has a passion for aviation, one he hopes to share eventually with his infant son, Oliver. Max imagined Oliver on his first flight giggling alongside him in the plane as they look down on the state they call home. Instead, when Oliver was several weeks old, he was whisked away by a LifeFlight crew. Max stood on the ground and watched his son fly away.
The Whites first realized their son was sick when he was four weeks old. The couple took Oliver to Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital (MCH) in their hometown of Ellsworth to see his pediatrician. He wasn’t gaining weight or reaching benchmarks appropriate for his age.
“He was very pale, sweaty, and gray-looking,” said April, who added Oliver was quite upset on the drive to the doctor’s office. “They put two pulse oximeters on him to see if one was reading accurately. Come to find out, he wasn’t really maintaining oxygen at all.”
“Where he was really unstable, they wanted the expertise and knowledge of a LifeFlight crew,” Max said. All LifeFlight medical crew members receive extensive training year-round. Bangor Savings Bank Simulation and Learning Labs are located at each of LifeFlight’s three bases, allowing crew members to use technology to practice advanced skills needed to care for pediatric patients.
On October 17, 2024, flight nurse Denise Saucier, flight paramedic Brad Alleger, flight nurse orientee Bailey Bauer, and rotor wing pilot Shane Burkhart landed at MCH, and prepared Oliver to be transported.
Flight paramedic Brad Alleger holds Oliver White
“We had no idea what was wrong with him. We just knew that something was very wrong,” said Max. The crew spoke with April and Max about the transport and care they would provide Oliver in the sky. The conversation helped assuage some of the couple’s fears about their son’s trip.
Max and April walked with the LifeFlight crew out to the helipad and watched as their weeks-old son was gently loaded into the helicopter, already drifting off to sleep in a warm cocoon of blankets. There was no space for them to ride along so they stayed on the ground as the aircraft lifted off for Bangor.
At only four weeks old, Oliver experienced his first helicopter ride, tucked safely away in the back of the aircraft.
The couple got stuck in traffic on their way to Bangor, arriving at the hospital about an hour later. For Oliver, the flight was only about ten minutes. He was asleep by the time the pilot turned on the engine.
Denise, the flight nurse, texted April and Max, reassuring them Oliver was in safe and experienced hands. Once the crew landed and Oliver was transferred to the care of the hospital, Denise called to update them again.
Oliver was in the PICU for a week. Doctors performed an echocardiogram, and discovered Oliver had congenital heart defects. After a week in the hospital, Oliver was off supplemental oxygen and gaining weight. The couple hoped to take their son home to give him time to grow and gain strength for a future surgery.
Despite what appeared to be improvements in his condition, doctors performed another echocardiogram and found his heart was declining rapidly. As his condition continued to worsen, Oliver needed specialized care that could not be provided in Maine.
“His heart could not pump blood effectively,” said Max.
The care team at EMMC contacted Boston Children’s Hospital and arranged a second LifeFlight transport.
On October 23, flight nurse Cameron Bird, flight paramedic Peter Garrett, and EMT Bailey Rioux prepared Oliver for his trip to Boston in LifeFlight’s ground ambulance. The infant was once again tucked away for the almost four-hour-long drive. His parents followed closely behind in their own car.
“We got up to the room at Boston Children’s and there he was, with I don’t even know how many nurses and doctors around him. We couldn’t even see him through all the people in his room getting him stabilized and tucked in for the night,” said Max.
The family spent about a week at Boston Children’s while doctors monitored Oliver’s heart, which continued to decline. The surgeon pushed for a cardiac catheterization to learn more about Oliver’s condition.
“They were able to get an in-depth study of his heart, and it turns out, we didn’t know, but the defect had been there since birth. He had been declining all along, he just held on so strongly that we didn’t realize it,” said Max.
On October 31, the now six-week-old was taken into a five-hour-long open-heart surgery. For two-and-a- half of those hours, Oliver was on cardiopulmonary bypass, meaning a machine was doing the work of his heart and lungs. The surgeon patched the hole between ventricles in Oliver’s heart and replaced his aortic arch.
According to April and Max, their son’s recovery was off to a good start, and they were beginning to talk about his discharge. He then spiked a fever. Doctors discovered he had a double bacterial blood infection. Oliver spent another week and a half at Boston Children’s receiving antibiotics through an IV.
Once his condition was stable, a local ambulance transported Oliver back to the hospital in Bangor to continue his treatment. While in Bangor, the family ran into Denise, who was in the hospital during one of her shifts.
“She came up and we gave her Oliver to hold,” said Max. “Denise is a lifelong friend now.”
Three months later, after a recent follow up doctor’s appointment in Bangor, the family stopped by the LifeFlight hangar to meet the crew who helped save their son’s life. Immediately, with a happy gurgle, Oliver reached for Denise.
Flight nurse Denise Saucier with Oliver White.
As Denise held him, he grabbed the finger of Brad, the flight paramedic on his first transport. This time, instead of staring at them while attached to IVs and supplemental oxygen, Oliver smiled with his whole face, a look of pure joy. The infant, who was once one of LifeFlight’s smallest patients, is now gaining weight and developing a personality. His scar from open heart surgery is very faint, a fading sign of how sick he once was.
“He’s a very, very happy baby now,”said Max. As Oliver clutched a LifeFlight stuffed moose and pulled at Denise’s hair, the crew who helped save his life just months before, couldn’t help but agree.
Flight nurse Denise Saucier, April White, Oliver White, Max White, and flight paramedic Brad Alleger at LifeFlight’s hangar.
