Upstate New York Volunteer Pilots Provide Lifeline for Cancer and Transplant Patients

One of the hardest things a family will hear is that a loved one is sick with cancer or is need of a life-saving transplant. Well, there is a team of literal angels that fly the sickest of patients to the best medical facilities in the Northeast and they're based out of Orchard Park, New York.

Joe Demarco Sr. is a pilot who got started on his life saving missions over 20 years ago. Demarco Sr. actually made his living as a mason and during his lifetime, got his pilot license and purchased a plane. Demarco says, "When you have a plane you always want to be going somewhere." His first "mission" happened 21 years ago. Demarco  described his first journey that got him hooked on the cause and led to him starting his organization. He says,

I went along to bring a little child home from New York City to Erie, Pennsylvania and as soon as we walked into the airport, the mother just broke down crying. She couldn't believe we were going to take her. Her 2-year-old son was born with a tumor. The cancer was on his spine, and their doctor told him at that time no public transportation because of the compromised immune system. At that moment, I was hooked and the rest is history.

Since that time Demarco Sr. has flown hundreds of patients to and from important medical appointments, treatments, medical appointments and life saving transplant surgeries since that maiden flight.

The mIssion of "Wings - Flights of Hope" is simple. The website states,

The mission of Wings Flights of Hope Inc. is to help people in need of free air transportation for medical and humanitarian purposes. Basically helping anyone, anytime, anyplace. At Wings we do not want transportation to stand in the way of a patient receiving the best possible treatment available. With this purpose in mind, our volunteer pilots enjoy giving the gift of hope to so many passengers, and we are honored to be able to give someone a lift when they are down.

In some cases, Demarco and his team of trusted pilots are flying people on a weekly basis back and forth to some of the best medical facilities in the Northeast United States. Demarco says, "We are frequently at Sloan Kettering in New York City, Boston Children's Hospital, Cleveland's Children Hospital and others." These facilities are doing incredible clinical trials and Demarco is responsible for transporting a lot of these patients to those appointments safely.

Locally, a Utica resident named Kyle was in desperate need of a transplant and when he got the call there were organs available, Demarco was ready. He took Kyle under his wing, pun intended, and brought him safely to the Cleveland Clinic for the life saving procedure. Demarco said Kyle was going to drive to Buffalo to get on the plane, but Demarco wouldn't have. They couldn't believe Demarco picked him up in Syracuse from Buffalo and then flew him to Cleveland. Now, Kyle is doing incredibly well and he and his wife have Joe to thank for a big part of that journey.

All of Demarco's pilots are on a volunteer basis and they don't take a dime from any of their patients. They are a 501(c)(3) and are funded purely on private donations and fundraisers. His pilots are on call 24/7 in the event someone had to be rushed to get their life saving transplant or make it to an important appointment. They truly are a remarkable organization and it's no joke when people refer to them as angels. Their list of pilots include:

Joe Demarco, Sr.
Joe Demarco, Jr.
Greg Barnhard
Chuck Basil
Kevin D'Angelo
Tedra Durkovitz
Charlie Heinrich
Peter Lane
Brian Rambarran
Joe Roland
Mahesh Sankaran
David Stern

These heroes can't continue to do the work they need to do to help the sickest of our sisters and brothers. That is why you can help by giving whatever you're able to, if you'd like to help this incredible cause. To donate visit https://wingsflight.org/. Help them continue their mission and never be grounded.