There's nothing more beautiful than saving lives. We are arrogant that as military transport aviation we represent armed forces in the “Action of the Heart” – says Colonel Pil. Sławomir Byliak, commander of the 8th Krakow Transport Aviation Base. Today, his subordinates made the 100th flight of this year as part of the Heart Action.
Last year, Balic pilots were proud. performed 69 flights for the Heart Action. This year, however, they importantly improved this consequence – and present it was their honour to execute the Jubilee – a hundredth flight this year for Polish transplantation. It's a evidence number of flights a year in stock history. The M-28 B/PT crew commander who made the Jubilee flight was ‘Janek’. Military Bryza carried a transplant squad from Katowice to Warsaw. The action was conducted for the Warsaw Clinic of Cardiac Surgery and Transplantology of the Institute of Cardiology.
A full of 54 pilots participated in the Heart Action this year, and the evidence holder carried organs for transplantation 12 times.
"Little cog in large mission"
– We are very pleased that this year we have managed to carry out 100 flights as part of the “Action of the Heart” – said Colonel Pil. Sławomir Bylik, commander of the 8th Transport Air Base. However, the officer reserves that military airmen are only a "small cog in a large mission". – In order to prepare 1 flight under the “Action of the Heart” it is essential to participate up to a 100 people – admits Colonel Pil. “These are the people who send out the request for the transport of organs, safety services for the mission in the air and on the ground, the crew of the aircraft and its operations, the services of: engineering and air transport, meteorological, air traffic, air insurance, communications, airport service, as well as the on-call officer and medical specialists: transplantologists and ambulance team,” the commander says.
Col. Byłoniak points out that not only its base is active in flights for patients, but besides 33 Transport Air Base from Powidza and 43 Naval Aviation Base in Gdynia-Baby Dołach. – Although I admit that about 80% Hospital flights performs our unit – adds the officer. He's got a twelve missions on his hands. The most stuck in his memory was a flight from more than 20 years ago, erstwhile on board an An-26 aircraft he carried a patient and heart to be implanted. I remember that the man was very afraid and sad. Then 1 of our crew members told him that erstwhile our crew is flying with a heart, all transplants take place. In these words he comforted the patient very much. After landing, we hugged him, encouraged him, and then received a message from doctors that everything had worked out," recalls the commander of the 8th Transport Air Base.
Such signals from doctors to pilots became an unwritten tradition. It's mostly text messages with good information. - That's very kind. At briefings we read messages that the patient is alive and thanking us. We answer to the doctors that we urge ourselves for the future and besides thank them – the colonel says.
Marcin, a pilot from the base in Balice, besides talks about how encouraging the messages are from the individual who coordinates the transplant, what happened to the patient. – We send information from doctors to crew members, sometimes even on the board of all pilots. To show that our work saves lives – he explains. Marcin joined the “Action of the Heart” on-calls 8 years ago, but for the first 7 only erstwhile he managed to leave for Polish transplantation. This year, on the another hand, is simply a peculiar year for him, for he transported organs for transplantation 7 times in total.
Under Time Pressure
What do these missions look like? Marcin describes this on the example of an action in which he made 2 of the 3 flights that the military had to carry out during 1 operation. – You had to decision the organ from Wrocław to Warsaw. In Wrocław, the transplant squad had a slight hold in surgery and everything shifted over time. So we came to DC later. At Okęcie we had to wait for the heart to come from Białystok by a police helicopter. He yet landed delayed, but not from Białystok, most likely from Ostrołęka. Policemen due to bad weather could not fly to Białystok and landed closest to the city where they could. But their heart had to be delivered by an ambulance. Then they flew with him to Warsaw. They virtually landed next to us. We were, of course, ready to take off immediately and fly to Wrocław. We have managed to transport the heart below these delicate 3 hours – he describes.
Military pilots argue that participation in the Heart Action prepares pilots to be able to act rapidly at any time of day and night under different conditions. “These flights are besides a good training for combat flying,” says the pilot from the base in Balice.
Green light from coordinators and controllers
Marcin is impressed by the work of coordinators liable for individual actions. – specified a individual must coordinate transport, military or civilian airport, due to both types we operate in the case of the “Action of the Heart” and he must safe all these elements. We are the mediate link that moves from point A to point B and thanks to this coordination we are able to be ready to rapidly take the medical crew with the organ on board – explains the pilot and besides mentions the crucial function that air traffic controllers play throughout the project. – They're very supportive.. They don't gotta give us precedence to take off and land, they do. For “The Heart Action” they are able to arrange this movement so that we are practically guided by a string, consecutive to the airport, they treat us as a precedence – Marcin points out.
Col. Bylik stresses that military airmen are arrogant of this year's evidence and are preparing for further challenges. “We are ready for over a 100 flights a year,” says the 8th Base Commander.
