posted April 03, 2024

Crew members transport child and great uncle on separate occasions 

Evergreen, AL, April 3, 2024 – Two special patients enjoyed a visit to the Life Saver 5 air medical base on March 30, to reunite with the crews that transported them for emergency procedures. To make the day even more unique, the patients were related to each other but were transported just weeks apart for unrelated events. 

Last December, 10-year-old Markeith Thomas was accidentally shot in the head with a BB gun while playing at a friend’s house. His mother took him to Andalusia Health where it was determined he had a fractured skull, a brain bleed from a BB lodged in his brain, and a blood clot. The Life Saver team transported him to Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola, FL, where surgeons performed emergency surgery to repair the bleed and remove parts of the BB from his brain. 

“More often than not, we are dispatched for individuals who have a very poor prognosis,” said Flight Nurse PJ Cross. “Seeing Markeith’s positive outcome was heartwarming and is the reason why I love doing what I do.” 

But on this special day, the crew got to reconnect with not only Thomas, but his great uncle, Warren Matthews, too. He was also transported by Life Saver 5 a month after Thomas when his family called 911 due to new stroke symptoms. He was flown to Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola for what was determined to be his third stroke.  

Trinesha Lowe, who is Thomas’ mother and Matthews’ niece, was grateful for the care her family members received and for the opportunity to thank the crews in person at the reunion. 

“Thank you for the amazing opportunity to meet and see you guys once again on better terms,” said Lowe. “We appreciate your team’s warm embrace and tender care for my son during this traumatic event. Markeith is well and he appreciates his opportunity to have a follow-up with your team.” 

As an active 10-year-old, Thomas was the star of the day. While sitting in different spots in the aircraft, he announced plans to serve in each crew member’s role when he grows up. He also had the crew laughing as he explained how he asked the surgeon to, “please just don’t mess up my hairline,” before going into the operating room. Thankfully, he didn’t even have a scar showing through his hair.  

Life Saver is part of Air Methods, the leading air medical service provider in the United States. Their highly trained flight nurses and paramedics are equipped to transport pediatric, high-risk obstetric, stroke, cardiac, and other patients with a wide variety of critical care needs. They carry blood that can be administered in-flight for patients suffering significant blood loss and at risk for hemorrhagic shock, which causes the body’s organs to fail and can lead to death. 

Air Methods is committed to providing air medical services to all members of the communities it serves and is in-network with most major health insurance providers across the country for emergency air medical services. Additionally, their patient advocacy program works with all patients, regardless of their insurance coverage, to ensure affordability while making pre-paid air medical membership unnecessary.