May 12, 2014

Posted by Naomi Harm

Today is the day our 19-year-old son Jacob Harm has arrived at Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul, MN. The schedule today had some delays and some airline changes, which we anticipated would happen.  This has been the norm for us for 37 days - no consistency - but we are now better prepared to deal with it. The most important thing is that Jake is here now. He is safe and he is not leaving Minnesota.  He arrived by a private medical transport "LearJet" through “Air Ambulance Specialists” medical team.  This was the flight change this morning instead of using a US Air Force Medevac transport. His flight time from EL Paso, TX was 2 hours and 34 minutes with additional time needed to transport him via ambulance from the private US Air Force section of the Minneapolis International Airport.

His vital signs are stabilized and they did a great job maintaining his pressures and comfort levels on the flight. The private “Air Ambulance Specialists” medical team is amazing; they were very thorough and caring individuals.  We're very thankful for this flying medical team to get our Jake to Bethesda! 

Jake is quite alert this evening despite his long journey. He's tracking very well with his eyes and trying very hard to listen and figure out where he is today. He has great range of motion with his right arm. They have provided him with an oxygen mask over his trach tube to give him and extra boost to help his with the transition.

I was greeted this AM by many caring individuals at Bethesda Hospital - from the front door receptionist to the main charge nurse and tending nurses. We are truly blessed to be now working with so many kind, caring and exceptionally skilled medical professionals. This is what the Midwest is ALL about - top notch – high quality professionals that exhibit empathy beyond one’s expectations.

I must also share a very special individual’s name and qualities with you - his name is Andy Kirchoff. He is the Nursing Administrative Coordinator and Regional Referral Liaison at Bethesda. He has been working with Jeff and myself for over 10 days now to get Jacob to Bethesda. He has done such dynamic work behind the scenes, even on nights and weekends, to get this lined up for Jacob. From taking charge of creating the medical case numbers to being proactive with Jake’s move with the US Army and UMC in El Paso, TX, taking care of all the approval paperwork for Jake’s TriCare United Healthcare insurance, to assisting Jeff and myself with private medical flight options and quotes, and the list goes on and on. He is amazing, highly organized, has extensive attention to detail - this is our kind of professional we want to be associated with and have representing our son. We are so very grateful to Andy and the entire Bethesda medical staff for caring for our son during these next few months.