Grace on Wings reunites family

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A mother was reunited with her sick son after financial difficulties kept them apart for nearly two months. The reunion was all thanks to a non-profit organization based out of Indianapolis: Grace on Wings.

Grace on Wings provides medical air transportation for patients who can't afford it.

That was the case for the parents of a multi-organ transplant patient now receiving care at Riley Hospital. Machines kept 2-year-old Lincoln Harris alive. He was born six weeks early. Doctors told his mother, Stacey Harris, her son wouldn't make it through the night.

“He has been sick since he was born,” Stacey Harris said. “(Lincoln) has had liver, intestine and pancreas transplants.”

Recently, his life almost ended. Shortly before Thanksgiving, Lincoln developed a fever and had trouble breathing. Doctors diagnosed him with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Days before Lincoln took that critical turn, Stacey Harris and her husband, a recently retired Marine, sealed a deal to move from California to Indianapolis so they could be closer to family. But Lincoln was too sick to travel. Coupled with illness, the family couldn't afford the cost to transport him.

But that all changed. Wednesday, Grace on Wings, the only non-profit charity air ambulance in the United States, transported Lincoln and his mom from California to Indianapolis.

“I wouldn’t have my son here if it wasn’t for them,” Stacey Harris said as tears flowed down her cheek.

Hal Blank, pilot and founder of the organization, said it’s his mission to serve.

“Someone has to step up and do it,” Hal Blank said. “God makes the provisions for us to be able to do it.”

Blank said this mission cost $17,000. He said he shows love for others through aviation.

“The great commission for us is to love one another as God has loved us,” Blank said. “So that is the reason why we do what we do.”

It made a big difference to the Harris family. Now, Lincoln is being treated at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health.

“I could never thank them enough,” a tearful Stacey Harris said. “I’m just happy to have my son here closer to our family.”

For more information about Grace on Wings, visit www.graceonwings.org