This was a double mission because I waited at Newport News Airport while he had his treatment, and then I flew him back home. I had flown Kevin before and was glad I could do it again. We share the experience of prostate cancer, I had surgery for it in 2019, and we both opened up to it for discussion. While going through something in life that seems a little overbearing, it can really help talking with someone who has traveled down the same path. To me, these flights with Kevin had more purpose than just getting him to his appointments and back home, they were to offer him an ear to listen and chance for him to ask questions, any questions at all, which is sometimes very hard for us guys. I know while I was going through the time before, during, and after my diagnosis, talking with others that had experienced it before me helped tremendously.
Our flight conditions for the day were great, with just some little storm cells scattered around and a few rain showers to fly through. We arrived early in Newport News, and Kevin got a call just as we landed, notifying him that the machine was down at the treatment facility! Since we were already there, he headed on over, and after a period of time, they got it back up and running, and he was able to get his treatment!
We arrived back in Rocky Mount a little after 7:00pm, and after a quick goodbye and a bathroom stop, I was soon back in the air heading home. I arrived back in the valley after sunset with some rain showers passing through, so I made an instrument approach back into homebase. After passing through some light rain showers, I was greeted by the beautiful runway lights in front of me as if saying, welcome home, come on in!
Total flight time was 5.5 hours, covering 572 nautical miles, hope you enjoy the photos, they say a picture is worth a thousand words… so I have included no captions.
