When any member of a family is in hospital being treated for a life-threatening illness it is never easy for either the patient or loved ones.  And when the father of a young family is not only in hospital being treated for cancer but is also separated from his family by a 9-10 hour road trip, life itself can be extremely hard if not impossible for all concerned.

Being treated at the Royal Adelaide Hospital for Multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell, 33-year-old father Nathan Aretas was about to undergo a high dose of chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant.   Naturally this was a highly stressful time for both Nathan and his young family who live many miles away in Coober Pedy (a 9-10 hour road trip).

In an effort to provide much needed relief and support, Angel Flight flew Nathan’s wife Bonna, daughter Angie [7] and son Matt [15 months], from Coober Pedy to Adelaide absolutely free of charge.  

“When I was told that Angel Flight would do this for us I could hardly believe it.  It’s more than I could dare ask for,” Bonna said.

“We’ve been apart for what seems a very long time and it’s really hard, especially for the kids.  Sometimes I feel strong and at other times I fall in a heap when I think that something bad could happen, but something lifts me up and I say ‘yes, we can do it’.”

Owners of a small opal and souvenir shop, Bonna said her husband had suffered from back pain that had become increasingly more severe from about the beginning of 2004.

“He ignored it at first because he had hurt his back when he was about 16 when he fell about 60 feet down a mineshaft,” she said.

“He was lucky as apart from a chipped vertebrae he suffered no serious damage from the fall. But when his back started playing up at the beginning of last year he put it down to the old injury. He still managed to work for a while thinking it would go away but then the pain became so severe he couldn’t even hold his own baby and that really hurt him.”

Unable to stand the pain any longer Nathan finally gave in and sought medical treatment.

“He’d always been well and had no real history with doctors and hospitals, so when he was finally told he had cancer it really shook him as he never thought anything like this could happen to him,” Bonna said.

“Nathan has always been a hard worker and when we started our own business he also worked at a service station to help supplement our income. But with a new baby he gave that up to take over our business so that I could concentrate more on the family and then this happened.”

With money getter tighter and tighter, Bonna had no chance of affording plane fares to take her and the children to Adelaide to be by Nathan’s side and the long journey by road with two small children would have added to the emotional and physical stress they were already enduring.

“Thanks to Nathan’s positive attitude he is progressing quite well with his treatment but the really hard part is just ahead of us with the transplant, that’s why I’m wanting to see him as often as I can,” she said, obviously concerned for the man she loves.

“I’ve been feeling so lonely but now Angel Flight has changed this and I can’t find the words to describe what I feel and wish I could do something more to say thank you.”

John Ashcroft - Pilot

Peter Richards - Earth Angel
(Peter's 3rd mission)

Marg Barry - Earth Angel
(Marg's 3rd mission)

Peter and Marg are members of EMT Services; Patient Care & Transport.

Angel flight 1 by John Ashcroft
First mission for John.

Based in Adelaide, Angel Flight Pilot John Ashcroft owns a house building business and looked forward to what was his first Angel Flight Mission.

“I started flying more than ten years ago just because I loved the challenge of it all.  I must admit though that most of the flying that I do has no other purpose except to experience the joy of flying and to give pleasure to my family and friends,” John said.

“It was great helping this family because everyone else I take flying doesn’t have to get anywhere, but this had a very real and worthwhile purpose.”

When asked why he decided to join Angel Flight as a volunteer pilot, John said that having a family of his own has something to do with it, but it was the testimonials on Angel Flight’s website that really motivated him.

“When I read the comments made by people who have already been helped by other Angel Flight pilots I realized just what a valuable service this really is,” he said.

“It’s hard to imagine how a family can go through a situation like that facing Bonna and Nathan, so whilst I may think I can’t really afford to take time out to do this kind of thing, I think about what’s happening to them and realize it’s much bigger than what I do on a day-to-day basis. “

A lonely Shell refuelling station, a Beech Debonair parked on the strip and a family keen to head toward the city of Adelaide. A family friend with Matt, Bonna and Angie.