At Aeromedical and Marine TRI, we specialize in medical repatriations, ensuring the safe and efficient return of patients to their home countries. However, we occasionally have the opportunity to provide unique and extraordinary services beyond our usual scope. Recently, we had the privilege of offering VIP medical escort support to our patient, Steve, as he embarked on a dream cruise along the Nile in Egypt. This experience highlights a special aspect of our services, where we combine medical expertise with personalized care to fulfil our patient’s extraordinary travel aspirations.

Each mission we undertake is unique, but this time we had a very special mission: fulfilling a dream. Our patient contacted us because he had an unfulfilled dream of travelling to Egypt to photograph its mysterious pyramids and temples. However, his health condition prevented him from making the trip on his own, so he asked us if we could help him make it come true.

I was assigned the mission as a nurse escort, and together with the rest of the team, we began working on finding a way to make the trip safely. First, we reviewed the patient’s medical history. He was a multi-pathological patient, actively undergoing cancer treatment for leukaemia, with an old below-knee amputation of his left leg and a prosthesis, which allowed him relatively autonomous mobility thanks to strict rehabilitation. However, two weeks before the trip, he had to undergo an amputation of two toes on his right foot due to diabetic foot, significantly limiting his mobility and increasing the risks during the trip, primarily infection and sepsis. Therefore, we planned to provide daily wound care and assessments.

 

 

 

The trip was organized by an agency and consisted of 12 days of travel, with numerous transfers (8 flights, 7 days of cruising, and almost daily coach trips for excursions). Egypt, moreover, does not have infrastructures adapted for people with reduced mobility nor a quality healthcare system in most of the territory, often presents inadequate sanitary conditions, and extreme temperatures of up to 43ºC. Thus, our challenge was to find solutions to these difficulties without leaving room for unforeseen events, for which we had alternative plans in case of need, including repatriating the patient to Barcelona for hospital medical care, mobilizing the necessary resources depending on the point of the route we were on: in the middle of the Nile cruise, in the city, or in more remote desert areas. All chances were considered to act with the greatest speed and safety possible.

 

Finally, the greatest challenge during the trip was mobility. Transfers and excursions, in some cases, were more demanding than anticipated due to the instability of the terrain, combined with the heat and the patient’s weakness in the first days after the oncological treatment administered just before the trip. For this reason, we adapted the pace of the trip each day, thus being able to enjoy every moment. On some days, when we had more energy, we enjoyed incredible excursions and visits, and on other days, we simply enjoyed a good conversation and photographed an unforgettable sunset on the Nile from the cabin balcony, recovering strength for the next adventure.

We can proudly say that the mission was accomplished beyond expectations. We fulfilled a dream, overcame all the obstacles that arose, always keeping the situation under control, and enjoyed a wonderful and enriching experience for all. The greatest reward is seeing the happiness of our patient, and now, friend.

From Aeromedical and Marine we love you, Steve, and above all we admire your strength, determination and courage to fulfil your dreams and purposes. See you very soon!

Arantxa Moreno Panella_Nurse in charge of the mission