4 days ago
Boy reunites with lifesaving helicopter at Selinsgrove Airport Open House
SELINSGROVE — Four-year-old Liam Rising was reunited on Saturday with the type of medical helicopter that saved his life.
Liam, who was visiting the Penn Valley Airport fourth annual Open House in Selinsgrove with his family, was born with a rare genetic disorder called congenital myasthenic syndrome, which caused him to have trouble breathing. He was transported within the first hours of his life by Life Flight from Evangelical Community Hospital to Geisinger in Danville.
"It was 48 hours until I got to see him again. I was stuck at Evan and he was at Geisinger NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)," his mother, Samantha Dock, of Selinsgrove, recalled on the tarmac of the Selinsgrove airport while her two sons sat in the Life Flight helicopter. "It's emotional being here. I'm grateful. He probably wouldn't be alive if not for Life Flight."
Dock said she was taken to Evangelical for an emergency C-section. It wasn't known at the time, but the genetic disorder caused low muscle tone and weak crying as well as respiratory distress.
"It's nice that he's four now and thriving, and he's able to see it (Life Flight) for himself," Dock said. "He loves planes and helicopters. I swear he'll be an EMT or something like that someday. And that's amazing because the first year of his life was just survival."
Chester Atherton, the Life Flight and critical care base manager at Penn Valley Airport, said having Life Flight stationed at the airport and available for open house events are important to build relationships with the community.
"Sometimes it can be big and scary for kids, but this lets them know we're right in their back yard and we're here to help, we're not here to hurt," he said.
Dock, who is also the mother of 2-year-old Kamdem Rising, visited the airport during its fourth annual open house with hundreds of other visitors. Presented by the Penn Valley Pilots Organization, the event featured local hobbyists, nearby Experimental Aircraft Association chapters, airline recruiters, aircraft manufacturers, BigFoot Country Radio, local fire companies and food vendors.
The event showcased aviation groups, vendors, exhibitors, fire companies, full-motion simulator, airline recruiters, aircraft fly-ins, and static displays, including an AutoGryo Cavalon gyrocopter owned by Ron Andres.
"I can't take it anywhere without someone wanting to see it," Andres said.
The Harold family, of Selinsgrove, and their grandfather James O'Brien, of Fort Myers, were fascinated by the gyrocopter as well as the whole event.
"This is awesome," Paul Harold said. "We live across the creek, and we see airplanes coming in all the time."
His daughter Alyvia Harold agreed.
"Our whole house shakes sometimes," she said.
