TAKING FLIGHT OF FANTASY
United treats children from area hospitals to holiday celebration at airport North Pole
Any pain that Isaiah Gitchel may have felt Saturday did nothing to stop the 6-year-old who has spina bifida from holding court on his annual journey on United Airlines Flight 2432 to the North Pole.
More than once, the Whispering Pines Elementary School student found himself surrounded by other children, parents and volunteers drawn to his electric personality.
“What’s your name?” he asked passersby as he doled out highfives.
Isaiah was among 60 children from area hospitals and their families who were greeted after an hourlong flight at George Bush Intercontinental Airport by Santa’s elves, sleighs, fake snow Disney princesses, superheroes and Christmas carols sang by Atascosita High School students.
The Fantasy Flight event, held at 13 United hubs worldwide, is an annual partnership between United Airlines and hospitals. Representatives from the airline visit MD Anderson Cancer Center, Shriner’s Hospital, the UT Mitochondrial Center for Excellence and Texas Children’s Hospital at the end of each summer to invite children who might not otherwise be able to attend holiday events.
“They don’t deserve to go through what they’re going through,” said John Watson, the Houston president of the program. “We like that we can make a day in their life be a little bit brighter.”
Kids and their families are invited to the Fantasy Flight on a first-come, first-served basis,
said hospital coordinator Jody Cope, the senior manager of environmental compliance at United.
Though priority is normally given to new passengers, some, like Isaiah, return year after year.
“He loves people; he loves it here,” his mother, Karen Federwisch, 37, said. “He’s never met a stranger.”
Some of the volunteers from years past vividly remember the little boy with glasses and a smile permanently plastered to his face, who spent much of the summer in the hospital.
“He’s always been a hoot,” said Leslie Fox, 53, a Bush airport customer service representative by day and Santa’s helper by night.
As rewarding as the event is for the children and their parents, Fox said, it’s just as enjoyable for the volunteers.
“It’s priceless. Seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces tells you everything,” said Sonia Bazzi, 50, a customer service supervisor at the airport.
Fox has lost count of how many times she’s volunteered at the event, but every time the children walk through the blue, snowflake-embroidered curtains and see their version of a winter wonderland, she has to choke back tears.
“It puts life into perspective,” she said. “If you can put a smile on one kid’s face, it makes it all worth it.”
Caroline Fletcher’s trip to the North Pole came the day before her sixth birthday. As she whizzed around in her power chair, from the caricature station to the face painting, all she was looking for was a present for her twin brother, Henry.
She has a rare neuromuscular disorder, her grandfather, neurosurgeon Steve Fletcher said, and will travel to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio in January to undergo experimental treatment.
“She’s a great little girl,” Fletcher said.
All she wants from Santa this year, the kindergartner said, is a Barbie Dreamhouse.