Easter came with a mercy chopper ride

Weekender

By PISAI GUMAR
THIS will be a journey that Rose Andy will remember for the rest of her life.  It goes for her little triplets as well; while they may not have known what had happened in the hours before and after their birth, they will come to know of this story and be glad for the help that came from the sky.
The drama started after the 25-year-old Rose had given birth in May to triplets she didn’t know she was carrying. On Thursday May 3, more than a day later, Rose still had not expelled the placenta, and she was in a lot of pain and bleeding. She was stuck in her village of Sikami, high up in Obura-Wonenara beyond the mountains of Marawaka in Eastern Highlands. A clinic was nowhere nearby.
The morning passed into afternoon and still no relief. Worried, the village birth attendant decided to phone Obura-Wonenara MP Mehrra Kipefa, who then transferred the call to Lae-based helicopter company Manolos Aviation’s medical team. Manolos’ chief executive, Captain Jurgen Ruh, received the call late that Thursday afternoon: a woman was seriously ill and he was asked to fly to Sikami to bring her in.
After an assessment with the VBA over the phone over the severity of the case, Ruh and a female medevac nurse left for Sikami early on Easter Friday.
“I had an idea of what I envisioned for medevac in PNG as my experience had taught me so many things, least of which are the difficulties people in remote areas faced in terms of medical services,” Ruh said.
“Sometimes you think you’ve seen it all and something like this happens and it just further enhances your conviction that what you are doing is vital to supporting not only people in need but the growth of a nation and its ability to provide lifesaving service to most, if not all.”
Going only by the details they had been given, Ruh and nurse Sr. Pendek Sitong prayed for the best and hoped that fog would not hinder their trip. They had to stop somewhere along the way to get a local guide to help them find Sikami – a village yet unmarked on the map.
The flight from Lae took about 45 minutes. The nurse stabilised the triplets, two boys and a girl, and they were soon on their way back to Lae where on arrival Rose and the babies were rushed to Angau General Hospital.
After four weeks at Angau, the family was finally given the all clear and returned to their home, again via Manolos Aviation.
Rose has two other children, each born separately. She had also miscarriaged twice.
Manolos Aviation works with the Morobe provincial government and the health division to provide medical assistance for people in isolated areas who are in life-threatening situations.
Lucky for Ruth and the triplets Ruh delivered them a happy Easter present.