‘A whole extra day at home’
Charity makes travel easier for Westmount woman battling cancer
Editor’s note: This story is part of a Cape Breton Post Special Report taking a closer look at Nova Scotia’s health-care system and the patient experience of battling cancer.
Tamara Corbett says she used to cry and have a “temper tantrum” when she had to get ready to take the shuttle to Halifax for her weekly chemotherapy and appointments with her medical team.
The idea of the long journey from her home in Westmount, over bumpy roads, in poor weather conditions, plus the increased chance of catching a cold, flu or gastrointestinal infection, like the norovirus, was too stressful because of the risks to her health.
Corbett, 31, has been battling an aggressive form of leukemia since May 2017 and is eight months into her two-year treatment plan. Weak and sore from muscle deterioration because of chemotherapy, on top of exhaustion and other side effects made the six- to seven-hour road trip a living hell for her.
“Could you imagine me taking the shuttle today in the state I am in? I would cry. I would wear my mask and sit in the back and cry the whole trip, going over the bumps,” she said.
When Corbett found Hope Air, a private charity based in Toronto that provides free flights for people in financial need who require medical treatments outside of their home community, she knew she found the help she needed.
“It has saved me,” said the married mother of one. “I spend less time away, the ride is so much smoother, I don’t have the same hip pain or bruising. And I’m not scared of catching something because of my immunity suppression. It is just amazing.”
Shauna Cameron, mother of three-year-old Norah Cameron-Ranni, was able to get their flights to Toronto through Hope Air for her son’s cornea transplant in March. That meant no waiting for reimbursement from MSI and the whole cost was covered. MSI covers up to a maximum of $1,000 and return flights to Toronto are usually more than $1,200 for two people.
“Hope Air has been wonderful to us… and they have gone above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of for our trip. We even had to reschedule our return flight due to some complications and it was not an issue,” Cameron said via email.
“The fact that something like this exists for families needing flights to reach medical specialists is amazing. We are truly grateful, as I’m sure many other families are.”
Hope Air provides flights in two ways: tickets on commercial airlines or flights on private planes owned by volunteer pilots like Bob Rosebrugh, 69, and Jim Lockyer, 68, who both live in
Moncton, New Brunswick.
Rosebrugh, a retired university professor, and Lockyer, a university professor nearing retirement, have been doing flights for Hope Air for about six years on their Cessna 182 — a four-seat, singleengine plane. Both praise Hope Air for being a “very good charity” and hope they can do more flights for them.
“I go flying anyways so if I can go flying and take someone who needs a bit of help that’s a big bonus,” said Rosebrugh, who explained that Hope Air reimburses them for half of the fuel used and gives them a charitable receipt.
“For most of us who are volunteer pilots flying is a passion and Hope Air give us the opportunity to use our passion to help others when they need it most,” Lockyer said.
Corbett has been getting help with flights from Hope Air since Feb. 4. She noticed an immediate difference in her recovery and mental health because it wasn’t taking her 10 to 24 hours to get home after finishing at the hospital.
“Normally when I fly, I usually get home at 11 p.m., but today because
of you I get home at 3 p.m.,” she told Rosebrugh during the return flight on April 3.
“This is a treat for me. It’s like I get a whole extra day at home.”
As the plane glided through the clear blue skies, 9,000 feet in the air, Rosebrugh replied, “I am glad to hear that.”
“The difference between an hour and a half in the air versus six hours on the shuttle, it just makes it easier on the patients like Tamara, and that’s a good thing.”
For more information on Hope Air, go to www.hopeair.ca.
Read Tuesday’s edition of the Cape Breton Post for more from this Special Report.