AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2012 - 73

PILOT JOE HOWLEY shares in the joy

with Jamie Peryea (left). Jamie wrote Tyler’s story in “the book,” a leatherbound journal Howley asks passengers to sign (above).

FLY FOR PALS

PALS is like many patient flight organizations in that the pilot donates the time and aircraft costs to fly ambulatory patients and their families to and from medical appointments. To be a PALS pilot, you must have a valid medical, 500 hours of flight time, 400 hours of PIC time, 50 hours of PIC in make and model, an instrument rating and be current, and satisfy some insurance requirements and meet general currency guidelines. Howley says that even if a pilot doesn’t meet the requirements, he or she can still help. He suggests anyone who is interested go online (www.palservices.org) or call 888-818-1231. Most pilots will also be able to offset the cost of fuel through the group’s unique fuel reimbursement program open to volunteers.

marrow transplant. Although the transplant surgery was successful, Tyler’s body began to reject the new marrow over time. There are four stages of bone marrow transplant rejection. Tyler’s gut and liver rejected the transplant at a stage 3 level, and his skin rejected it at stage 2. The rejection is primarily why Tyler was in the hospital so long, although even a perfectly successful transplant still requires weeks of chemotherapy prior to transplant and lots of monitoring afterward. Jamie says that throughout the recovery Tyler would scream for 18 to 20 hours a day, presumably from the pain, boredom, lack of food, and other rigors of an extended hospital stay. During the worst period his fever was 104 degrees or higher for 47 days straight. Perhaps it goes without saying that Jamie stayed with Tyler the entire time he was in the hospital. Saying it was a hardship on her family doesn’t begin to tell the whole story. Her husband, Brad, had planned to come out every other week for an extended stay, but the economy took a hit on his office. Fearing the loss of his job and the millions of dollars worth of health insurance associated with it, he ended up spending most of his time at home in Rhode Island more than 800 miles away. Brad wasn’t alone. He was taking care of their second child, Cameron, who was born only two months before Tyler became ill. Jamie said Tyler was such a good baby that they decided to have another right away. Now, more than a year later, she’s going home to a child she hardly knows and a husband she’s barely seen in a year. The family has reunited in Cincinnati a few times, including one time for the baby’s first birthday. Because Tyler is immune compromised, there was concern that the

visiting family’s time on a commercial flight would expose them to germs that they might transmit to Tyler. So a PALS volunteer flew the family out for the visit. It’s one of many types of flights the organization will undertake.
PASSION TO SERVE

PALS is Howley’s first passion in aviation. It’s why he flies. Even though a PC–12 isn’t the cheapest airplane, Howley uses it more for service than for personal transportation. And there’s no doubt it’s a great airplane for the job. Tyler cruised up and down the aisle the entire trip, using the seats, tables, and galley as handholds along the way. Jamie said it was the most walking he’d done in a year. People like Tyler are the reason Howley spends so much time and money on PALS. He started the nationwide service organization on Memorial Day 2010. It has since grown to 200 fully vetted pilots, 100 pilot-applicants, and 100 scheduled flights a month. “We’re trying to make it more of a pilot club,” Howley says. “I want to get away from the single contractor model where you only fly and don’t know anyone else in the organization.” He says that many in the group use the contacts they’ve made to get help with maintenance, instruction, and even nonaviation business networking. Howley also says he’s trying to avoid what he calls the numbers trap, in which the group’s entire worth is measured in how many flights it makes. Instead, he said, they are trying to truly take the values of the basic service they provide and expand on it to all aspects of the group. To that end, Howley says PALS will take calls on weekends, holidays, at the last minute,
www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 73

http://www.palservices.org http://www.palservices.org http://www.aopa.org/pilot

AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2012