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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – LAS VEGAS, Sept. 26, 2017 — The nation’s leading medical flight charity, Miracle Flights, has reported 724 free flights provided in August to critically ill children and adults in need of specialized, distant medical care. Last month’s total reflects a significant increase from 599 flights performed in August 2016.
Since 1985, the Las Vegas–based national nonprofit organization has provided free medical air transportation to patients with rare and life-threatening conditions so they may have access to life-saving, life-changing treatments and valuable second opinions not available close to home, due to the complexity of their diagnosis. Plane tickets are provided at no cost to families and as many times as necessary. To date, Miracle Flights has provided 111,397 free medical flights and flown more than 62 million miles.
“Miracle Flights was founded 32 years ago with the belief that distance should never stand in the way of a cure and that no child should suffer from a diminished quality of life because help is a plane ride away,” said Mark E. Brown, CEO of Miracle Flights. “The service Miracle Flights provides not only alleviates a tremendous financial burden but also plays a key role in positively changing the course of these children’s lives and the lives of their families.”
As an example, Brown cites 16-year-old Riley from Idaho, who suffers from Dyskeratosis Congenita—a rare bone marrow condition that affects an estimated one in a million people worldwide. In 2015, Miracle Flights flew Riley 3,000 miles to Boston Children’s Hospital, where he became the sixth patient to receive an experimental transplant. Today, the high school junior plays football, wrestles and runs track.
“What makes it possible for Miracle Flights to help children like Riley overcome incredible odds is the generous support of individuals and community partners who champion our cause and care as much about these kids as we do,” said Brown.
The most recent organization to lend its support to Miracle Flights is UFC®—the world’s leading mixed martial arts organization—which last week announced a new national charitable partnership with the nonprofit organization. The partnership is supported by UFC’s “We Are All Fighters” initiative and includes a joint public service announcement featuring UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin and 11-year-old Levi Krystosek, whom Miracle Flights has flown 16 times for treatment of Jansen’s Metaphyseal Chondrodysplasia, a rare form of dwarfism with only 24 known cases worldwide.
About Miracle Flights
Miracle Flights is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides free medical air transportation to children and adults via commercial airlines throughout the United States. With over three decades of service to families in need, Miracle Flights has coordinated more than 111,000 flights and counting. For more information about Miracle Flights, to request flight assistance, or to make a donation, call 800-359-1711 or visit miracleflights.org. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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