Latest news with #Neonatal
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
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.
Zawya
08-04-2025
- Health
- Zawya
Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures
Today, Angola joins the global community in celebrating World Health Day, which is dedicated to maternal and child health under the 'Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures.' This day commemorates the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948, and it´s an occasion to call for communities, organizations, and governments to work together to advocate for actions that can improve people's health and well-being worldwide. This year, World Health Day, observed under the theme 'Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,' is a solemn reminder of our collective responsibility to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths and prioritize women's and children's long-term health and well-being. Despite significant advances, maternal and newborn deaths remain a critical problem. Worldwide, around 300,000 women die every year from pregnancy-related causes, and more than 2 million babies die in their first month of life. In the WHO African Region, 20 mothers and 120 newborns die every hour, totaling 178,000 maternal deaths and 1 million newborn deaths per year. These statistics represent real lives lost, families torn apart, and futures disrupted. The WHO calls for intensified efforts by governments, the private health sector, civil society, and development partners to ensure access to quality and equitable health care, especially in low-income countries and vulnerable contexts. Dr. Indrajit Hazarika, WHO representative in Angola, stresses that: 'World Health Day is an opportunity to celebrate the remarkable progress the world has made in health and to advocate for urgent actions to address the deep challenges that persist. This year, we focus on maternal and child health as every seven seconds, somewhere in the world, a preventable death of a woman or child occurs. These are not just numbers; they represent real lives lost, families shattered, and futures cut short.' Angola has made significant progress in maternal and child health, reducing neonatal mortality from 24 to 16 deaths per 1,000 live births, infant mortality from 44 to 32 deaths per 1,000 live births, and under-five mortality from 68 to 52 deaths per 1,000 live births. However, challenges remain, particularly with regard to coverage of prenatal care and skilled birth attendance. To significantly improve maternal and child health and protect mothers and their babies, the WHO encourages the government and partners to invest in high-impact maternal and newborn health services, expand equitable access to quality care, adopt laws that protect health rights, address social and economic inequalities and strengthen accountability and innovation. The recently developed Integrated Strategic Plan for Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child, Adolescent, and Nutritional Health (SRMNIA-N) serves as an essential tool to guide universal coverage of high-impact, quality interventions to reduce maternal and child mortality and improve the population's nutritional status. The Plan is aligned with the Luanda Declaration issued in June 2022. It provides the political direction to implement the 'national commitment to the health of children, women and the fight against major endemic diseases.' Dr. Hazarika adds: 'Investing in maternal and newborn health yields substantial economic returns, as well as saving lives, with estimates suggesting that every dollar invested can generate a return of $7. Besides the economic benefits, every saved life contributes to the continuation of families, communities, and stronger societies. Let's work together, with the government, families, private sector, universities, and all partners, to ramp up efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths and to prioritize women's longer-term health and well-being in Angola.' The WHO renews its commitment to supporting Angola in improving maternal and child health, ensuring that every healthy start in life leads to a promising future for children, families, and communities. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) - Angola.
