Sweet little Jane from Kalispell, Montana was born prematurely with heart disease, Down syndrome, and other complications, and spent 37 days in the NICU as doctors fought to stabilize her condition. At four months old, she narrowly avoided a liver transplant when her own liver miraculously started working.
Jane’s case manager at Montana Children’s in Kalispell contacted Angel Flight West in June, and we flew her to Children’s Hospital Colorado where she had major heart surgery. Colorado volunteer pilot Tom McIntosh and his wife Peggy were so charmed by Jane and moved by her story, that when her return flight had to be cancelled because of bad weather, Tom purchased airline tickets to get the family home and even walked them to their gate.
Jane currently needs to see six pediatric specialists five days a week, and her mom had to quit her job to manage all her care. She’ll need one more open-heart surgery in the near future, but she’s on the road to good health and looking cuter than ever. Mom Nicole wrote to Tom, “You made her successful surgery possible, and we are grateful beyond belief. We will never be able to thank you enough.”
