Hey, frequent flyers. We are back with another episode of Takeoff Talk, and today we have a FE Ed. Hi Ed. Hi. Hi, Jessica. Thank you, uh, so much for being here with us today and sharing your story with our listeners. So, can you tell us a little bit about Bit your medical journey and how you found Angel Flight East? Yeah. Um, I've had a lot of different, um, chronic health problems. Um, and this, um, the specific one that, um, that required me to have this doctor's appointment is something called it's peripheral neuropathy. Um, so it's like the, the peripheral nerves, the nerves that, you know, that innervate, you know, the basically pretty much the entire body. Um, they, uh, they're not functioning the way that they're supposed to function, and it causes numbness and tingling and my hands and feet. And sometimes it could be pretty debilitating at times, or at least in the past. It has been pretty debilitating. And so my doctor, um, uh, wanted to get a biopsy, um, to, of the skin, um, because in the skin there are a lot of nerves that run through there, and they, and look at that and see whether there is any evidence of something that's called small fiber neuropathy, um, or, um, or anything else that might help explain my, uh, neurologic, uh, symptoms. So that was the reason for that particular appointment. I've also had other health problems. I've had issues related to my memory and cognition. Um, I've had issues related to my vision, um, which led to, um, my retirement for my career as a diagnostic radiologist and neuroradiologist. And, um, and that's just, those are just a few. But I've had a lot of chronic health problems and my, you know, I, so I used to work as a doctor. Um, so I'm somewhat knowledgeable about, you know, the field of medicine and, you know, treat different treatments and so forth. But, you know, for the problem, many of the problems that I've had, conventional medicine didn't really have answers for me. And so, you know, my journey has been kind of unusual. It's been one that involved, like, even when doctors have said, you know, like, we don't really have anything we can do for you. Um, there's really no hope for you. Um, you're never gonna be cured. So for me personally, um, I had to, you know, put, you know, really go to my, uh, my faith in Jesus Christ and God, you know, and, uh, for answers and people, many people have prayed for me. And, um, and also seeking unconventional approaches. Um, like, uh, I had, I learned I had a lot of toxins in my body and that those were contributing apparently to a lot of my health problems. But conventional medicine, my, my doctors, most of my conventional medicine doctors at the time, no, they said, no, not an issue. Um, you shouldn't be concerned about that. And it turned out they were totally wrong, because when I got tested, I had high levels of many different toxins, heavy metals, lead, mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metal poisons. I had toxic mo mold poisoning. And so my doctors, they, you know, they don't teach that in medical school for the most part about these different types of toxicities. And for me, they were like a huge issue. And, um, so that, that's been part of my process of getting healthy again. And then the other part has been nutrition. Like I have to do like a special kind of diet and, uh, only organic foods and, but conventional medicine has not really gotten to the point where they, they advocate for that for the most part. But for me, that's been critical for me. And, um, so those are some of the things that I've been doing, but they cost a lot of money. Like, it's expensive to get this care because a lot of this care that I've been receiving through what's called functional medicine, it's a holistic type of medicine, naturopathic medicine, these approaches are generally not covered in many instances by insurance. So a lot of it's out of pocket, thousands and thousands of dollars, you know, to, to get healthy again. Um, it's worth it, but it's been, it's put a real big drain on my finances. Um, but anyway, but I'm grateful to God that I'm getting better. I feel better. Um, uh, six or seven years ago, I could barely walk a block. Um, this past year I ran two marathons, and I'm hoping to run more marathons this year. So, you know, my desire is, I'm hoping that, you know, through all the suffering that I've experienced, and, you know, and a lot of it has been because of these things are not taught in most medical schools that maybe some good will come out of it that will help other people that are suffering from chronic diseases. You know, 'cause people get whatever it is, whether it's dementia, whether it's some type of, uh, you know, uh, all kinds of chronic health problems. Cancer, you know, people get these diseases and they go to the doctor and they say, doctor, how'd I get this? And most doctors typically in my experience, you know, uh, they'll say, well, we, we, we don't really know what caused that. And that's what my parents were told. You know, when they got sick, they got dementia. You know, we don't really know what caused that. But the truth is, a lot of it has to do with, and I believe, and more and more people, more and more, um, I guess holistic minded and people that are really looking into these issues, um, are totally convinced that a lot of it is the poisons in our environment. And, um, and not getting the, the food that we need, the, uh, the nutrition that we need. So I take many different supplements because I don't get, I'm not getting enough vitamins and minerals in my food, you know? Hmm. So, and that costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars every single, like every month. And so that's made it, that's been part of my journey is, you know, how to make ends meet. And, um, because I really am determined, you know, to get healthy again. And I've come a long way, but I still have a ways to go. And, um, but my financial challenges, it's been really hard on my finances to be able to support this kind of healthy lifestyle. And, you know, these treatments that my holistic mining have advocated for me. Yeah. I can only imagine the cost of that. And doing this podcast and being involved in Angel Flight for almost 11 years now, I've just heard countless stories of patients having to advocate for themselves, which is amazing to see. 'cause you think you go to any medical professional and they're going to know exactly how to cure you or what's wrong with you. And when they turn you away, you basically do have to be an expert in whatever condition you have. So I applaud you for doing that and not just kind of taking no for an answer and finding the treatment that works best for your situation. Yeah. I, I really, like I said, I had no to no options. It was either take my doctor's advice, which was basically go home, die, and, you know, write your will and die. Mm-hmm. Or, you know, but I, instead, I just started reaching out, um, doing my own research and, you know, thank God for the internet Yeah. And all the information that's out there. So like, more and more people are choosing to do their own research, you know, about whatever their, their health issue is. And they're finding, you know, that there, there, there's a lot that can be done in many situations that's not taught in most medical schools today. So I'm hoping that that'll change. And I hope and pray that, that, that, that someday, you know, these things will be taught in medical schools. You know, um, that's what I'm hoping for, because it, they need to be, and a lot of people like me are getting better from diseases that most doctors would say are incurable because they've taken these unconventional approaches. You know? So that's my hope is that, you know, that, that there will be change in our healthcare system. And, uh, and I believe it's happening. I believe it's happening even, you know, with this new, uh, administration, the work that RFK Junior's doing, you know, um, I believe good things are on the way. Uh, but you know, for so long, you know, the health system in my experience has been controlled by the pharmaceutical industry. Mm-hmm. And, you know, and these holistic principles are, for the most part, it's not about drugs. Um, but it's about lifestyle. It's about the food we eat, it's about, you know, get, how do we get toxins out of our body? You know, like I do what's called a detox foot bath a couple times a week at my doctor's office, my holistic functional medicine doctor, and it pulls the toxins outta my feet, you know, from all over my body. And it's amazing how wonderful it feels. And more and more of these toxic metals and the mold are coming outta my body by doing that. But most conventional doctors would, they don't even know about that, because it wouldn't be, it's not taught in the medical school. So there's a lot that can be done. And I'm hoping, like anyone that's listening to this, if your doctor tells you there's no hope for you, you know, or for that matter, your child, if your child has autism or something like that, and doctors say, well, we can't really do anything about that. It's not true. You know, do your own research. Um, look into a functional medicine, some type of, um, naturopathic medicine, integrative medicine, and find a practitioner, you know, who can help you. And, and like I said, the other thing is, you know, for me personally, it's been a in prayer. And so if you believe in God, if you believe in Jesus Christ, then then pray and ask people to pray for you. You know? But for me, those have been real. They've been game changers. So I know you were in, um, the medical field previously. Were you aware of Angel Flight or any type of public benefit flying service? I was not at all. Oh, no, I was afraid you were going to say that. No, I never heard of it before. Um, yeah, I never heard of it before, before this, this, this, this. Yeah, for sure. And we hear that from a lot of our passengers too. And I think that's just one of our bigger, biggest challenges is that so many people are unaware Angel Flight or any of our partner organizations exist. So we sometimes wonder how many people could be foregoing medical care because they think they don't have a way to get there. Yeah. I don't know what I would've done, you know, had I not heard about Angel Flight, um, you know, one of my friends, uh, that I, you know, I, I pray with, we pray for each other. Her name is Alice. And she mentioned to me, well, I'll tell you, the situation came up where I had train tickets, actually, actually it was a bus ticket, um, to go to Philadelphia from Pittsburgh. And the day before my doctor's appointment in Philadelphia, I got an email from Greyhound saying, we've canceled this bus. Oh no. my appointment was in the morning. And the, I, was no other way. I didn't have the, like, there was no other way for me to get to that appointment. And, um, and so I just started, I was trying to figure out what in the world am I gonna do, you know? Mm-hmm. Because this appointment had been scheduled for months, and I called the doctor's office. I said, can you take me in the afternoon? You know, 'cause I can't get there in the morning, but I might be able to get a bus that could get me there by the afternoon. They said, no, this doctor only works in the morning. So, you know, that's when I just started to reach out for friends, um, and, and, and pray about it. And, uh, so my friend Alice said, have you, you know, she gave me this. She just said, called 2 1 1 . she said, you know, that they have, they may be able to offer you options for transportation. So that's what I did. And I told 'em about my situation. And, um, oh, and then the other thing I did was actually, I think before I did that, I called, um, my doctor's office and I said, I can't be there tomorrow. There's no way. And, um, is it possible the appointment could be moved to like the next day or something? And they said, yes. So, and I called 2 1 1 I said, you know, um, I'm not gonna be able to get there by, you know, uh, tomorrow, but is it possible you could get me? Well, well actually, no, lemme take a step back. At first I asked Angel Flight to, you know, if they could get me there, like to, uh, next day for the scheduled appointment, Uhhuh and this, and, and they tried and they do it. And when they couldn't do it, that's when I called my doctor's office and I said, could we do it another day? Like, but really soon? And they said, yeah, we can get it to, and like, instead of the day you're scheduled, we can do it the next day. So I called Angel Flight back, and, and they said, you know, and they, and it took a few hours. I mean, they really had to work hard, you know, to try to find pilots on that short notice. Um, but they did. And, um, and that's basically how it, or how everything got scheduled. That's amazing. David's always working miracles behind the scenes, and he is our fearless flight coordinator, and he truly never says no. He's always willing to try, even with the last minute flights. Yeah, no, he did an amazing job. You know, like even from the very beginning when, um, you know, we were trying to, you know, see if we could, you know, get a flight that, you know, for that appointment that when it was as scheduled, and he worked really hard to try to make that happen, and he just couldn't, couldn't, he couldn't make it work, you know? But then he kept working, you know, um, once we found out that there was, that I could, um, get an appointment the following day, and he continued to work, you know, through the evening and to the next day, he gave me updates, um, each step of the way. And, um, and it came, and it, and it finally came through, and I got the word from him that, that he could, you know, that it was gonna work out. And I was like, oh, that's, that's so amazing. Yeah. Such a relief too. How was your, um, experience on our flights? I saw you flew with one of my favorites, John Greco. So I am curious to see how you liked him. It was very cool. Yeah. Um, loved it. Um, so I took, I, I went to the airport, um, and, uh, like the, or the Allegheny Airport's a small airport. It's, you know, not, not like the Pittsburgh International Airport. Mm-hmm. And, um, and basically met, uh, met the pilots there. And, uh, so it was a, it was a small plane and, uh, just, it was a pilot and a copilot, and they were both very, very nice and, um, really accommodating. And, uh, and just flying in that plane being the only passenger, just me and the, these two, you know, the pilot and the copilot, and really small plane, um, was just, uh, it was an amazing experience. And, uh, and it was, I mean, I'll just, it was fun. It was fun. It was like a, uh, it was like an amusement park ride or something like that, but it was like, um, I, I totally loved it. And, you know, they, they were really good about telling me what was going on and what to expect, what it was gonna feel like. Um, and, uh, it was just like a perfect flight. It was very smooth. And they said, you know, they told me that the weather conditions were, were very good. And, uh, it was, I would love to do that again, in fact, yeah. I knew in the past, like, I've really wanted to, um, I wanted to fly someday, like actually fly planes. Mm-hmm. And, uh, and I, I would love to fly planes someday. I still kind of have that desire, you know, once I get healthy again to fly. And, um, and that being on that flight, um, it, it really kind of like, um, it, it inspired you. It me thinking about that again, it kind of inspired me, you know, to wanna apply someday. I always say it's never too late. We always need more pilots, especially That's right. From pilots. So, if you, um, hadn't found Angel Flight, would you have driven, or how would you have gotten to Philadelphia for your care? What probably would've had, well, I didn't have money, um, to get another ticket. Um, I would've had to wait till my next paycheck, and then it would have depended on when the doctor could schedule me. Uh, so I would not have been able to get the, um, the biopsy. Mm-hmm. Um, and, you know, it's like, it would've just been really difficult, uh, because we're trying to get some answers. And my doctors, you know, it's, it's been couple years now. They've been trying to get answers for what's been cau what causes this neuropathy, um, which causes give me, gives me, um, a considerable pain, um, at times in my feet and toes especially. And, um, I don't know what would've happened, honestly. And I don't know when my doc, that doctor would've been able to get me in, and I don't know when I would've had, you know, the money, you know, to be able to get there, but it probably would've been at a minimum like a, a couple of weeks later. Um, so it would've been difficult situation. Yeah. And I was even thinking just of your symptoms and everything, having to be on a bus for that amount of time would've probably not been the most comfortable mode of transportation, either. Even if you had to do it, you would obviously take that route, but it's not necessarily the best. No, that's, that's absolutely true. Um, I take a lot of buses because that, you know, and I'm grateful for buses because, you know, because, uh, they're inexpensive, you know, compared to other ways of travel. But, um, you know, it, it is a, like the bus ride would've been a long bus ride. And, uh, I think the last time I took a bus to, you know, Philadelphia, it can be like seven, eight or something like that. Wow. And, um, so this was amazing. I, I, I forget how long exactly it took, but I wanna say it might've been like an hour out, 90 minutes or something like that. But, and it was just, uh, it was, it, yeah, it was, it was a tremendous experience. How would you say Angel Flight has affected your life? Um, wow. Um, well, being able to get to that appointment meant that the likelihood of getting a diagnosis sooner, um, is, is just much greater, you know? And, um, and like I said, it inspired me to want to, um, to do more, um, related to airplanes. It reminded me how much I love to fly. And, um, and it also reminded me just how, you know, in a very difficult situation where it seems like it's impossible, which at that point it was. In fact, I had friends tell me, you know, just for, just, you know, don't even bother. You know, don't, don't keep trying to like, you know, get a flight for this particular appointment, you know, just, you know, just do it another time or whatever. And I was like, no, you know, I'm gonna do everything I can to try to get to this appointment, you know, once it had been rescheduled for the next day. And, um, it just, so for me, it's just a reminder that, you know, um, as this happened in my life many times before, that, you know, through prayer, through faith, God, um, that, you know, what seems impossible, it is possible. So, you know, those, those are the ways it affected my life. It's strengthened my faith. And, um, and it just, uh, yeah, it, it, it, it really, uh, it just encouraged me, you know, to know that, you know, that, that God was with me and that he may, he wanted me to be at that appointment. When I got to that appointment, the doctor was so nice. It was at Thomas Jefferson University, um, uh, medical center facilities. And, uh, she was so nice and so accommodating, and, um, and it, it was just, uh, and, and I've received excellent care there, uh, from all the doctors at that facility who've been caring specifically for the, the, um, the neuropathy issue that I had. Yeah. And I think just in that situation, it would've been so much easier to just give up. But the fact that you didn't give up and you just kept trying and praying is remarkable. And it's just a great story to tell. And I think a lot of people can benefit from that just because sometimes in these medical instances, I feel like a lot of people kind of get told no or door slammed in their face. So you basically have to just keep trying and trying, and then you'll come out to your situation where you find a type of medicine, whether it's conventional or holistic, that really helps your specific situation. Yeah, exactly. And it just, because it's happened so many times, you know, like even, you know, when I started to have these health problems and I was told by doctors, family members, friends, you know, there's no hope for you. You'll never be healthy again. You know, if not in those exact words, you know, and, and some, and they made it clear to me that's what they were thinking, you know? And, you know, to have been told that so many times by so many people in different ways, and then to make it through and to go through the process of getting my health restored, that journey of getting my health restored, I've kind of got used to, um, being told, you can't do that, you won't be successful. Um, and just kind of ignoring that and, and just, you know, and just go for it and, and put everything I can into it, you know? Um, and that, that's how I, even as my, like running marathons now, you know? Which, you know, I mean, my doctors, they didn't think I'd ever run marathons. They didn't think I'd ever do anything, you know, as far as far as, you know, you know, being able to, or, or being able to work. You know, I work now, I have a part-time job, and, uh, doctors thought I would never work again, you know, because of my health issues. So I think I've, I'm getting so used to being told you can't do that. You know, that it kind of inspires me and it kind of ignites the fire within me, you know, to basically, you know, to prove them wrong. Yeah. And especially looking back at where you were, and now you have ran two marathons, you have to be so incredibly proud of yourself. And I think just running a marathon in general is amazing, let alone looking back. And you were not even able to walk or work or live your regular life, and now you're running in a, a marathon. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. And, oh, the other thing I didn't like, so on the way back, um, David came through also big time. Of course he did. 'cause, it wasn't clear, like, I think originally I was supposed, we'll, put it this way, the flight that I was scheduled to be on, it, it, it, it didn't work out. Um, the, the way he was hoping to get me back. So it ended up, he put me on a commercial flight, and, uh, he was able to work out, you know, the time and every, the timing. And, um, I ended up going through Washington, DC and, um, on my way back. And, but it, it wasn't, there were some hiccups and there were some challenges, uh, but David worked it out and he was able to get me, you know, for a while it looked like, am I even gonna be able to get home that day? And then if that was the case, where would I stay overnight? But he was able to work it out. So I was able to get, um, I was able to get back to Pittsburgh. And not only that, but I, I should have mentioned when I, once I to the airport in Philadelphia, um, there was an Uber and that was also paid for, um, to get to the doctor's office. And then there was a, or it might have been a Lyft or something. Um, and there was another, uh, ride for me leaving the doctor's office also paid for, uh, to get, um, to the, um, the Philadelphia International Airport. And then when I got, uh, when I finally got home, uh, to Pittsburgh, um, the, uh, there was a, um, there was a ride for me, uh, that took me directly to my doorstep. Um, and all of that was paid for. Wow. We try to make it as simple and easy as possible. And our ground transportation started out by us just hearing from passengers that the Ubers and Lyfts in these kind of larger cities were overpriced as we all know that they are. And we just wanted to be able to take something else off of their plates and just alleviate kind of that whole stress of travel. Like once you're landing in, mainly, oftentimes it's a new city, a new big city. So being able to provide that kind of door to door service was so important to us. So I'm glad you mentioned that, and I'm glad it's working. Yeah, yeah. It was, it was huge because, you know, even if I had taken the bus, then I would've had to deal with the issue of like, when the bus returned, how I would get from the bus station to my apartment. 'cause I didn't have money, um, at the time for, for an Uber. So what I have to stay in overnight in the city, you know, or I, you know, it was just, uh, it just made everything so, so, um, so easy. Mm-hmm. What is one final thought you would want to leave our listeners with? I would say if someone tells you something, if someone tells you you can't do something, and, but you have a desire in your heart to do it. And if you believe that God has given you a desire to, to wanna do that, whatever it is, you know, whether it's, you know, get healthy again from cancer or, you know, whether it's, um, if you wanna be like, you know, a professional runner or you know, any type of professional athlete, um, if you wanna, you know, if you wanna work at a, you know, as you wanna work as doctor or something, you know, 'cause like I've been, you know, most people have said I would never work as a doctor again, but I, I'm planning to work as a doctor again, that that's my desire. But to do it in what, in holistic, um, kind of approach, um, to help people that have suffered, like I've suffered through, to apply these kind of holistic principles to help people in addition to, you know, the, uh, conventional practice because like, I'm not like anti-modern medicine, but I'm more of a mindset of why can't we, why can't we bring together the best of modern medicine, which is awesome with, you know, these holistic practices. So I would just say, you know, if you really wanna do something and you're willing to work hard for it, then go for it. And, uh, you know, and pray about it and, you know, put your trust in God and just go for it and do it. And, um, and that would be my advice, you know, with regard to anything, a career, um, a health situation, a family situation, a marriage situation, you know, whatever it is, whatever challenges you're facing. And we all face challenges every single day. Um, but to have what's called, um, is been coined as a growth mindset, which is when we go through challenges, difficult situations, whatever they may be, instead of looking at it like, oh no, this is terrible. This is awful. What am I gonna do? But rather to having a, a mindset of what can I learn from this? How can I grow from this? How can I become stronger through this? And, um, you know, how is this gonna make me a better person? And, and, and I, and I'm, and be convinced that you'll come out on the other side having learned something, and you'll be stronger, you'll be mentally stronger, um, and spiritually stronger. And, um, and in the end it's going to, it's gonna be, you're gonna look back at that situation and say, Hey, you know, um, it's, that situation was something that I needed to make me a better person to learn from that. And, uh, and now I'm stronger, and, um, and I'm a, and I'm better. I have no doubt that you will get back into the medical field. And you may maybe have inspired me to run a marathon, but I'll keep you posted. That might be a long, that might be a long-term goal. Uh, yeah, go for it. Go for it. You know, my, my dream is actually, um, well, one of my dreams, I have a lot of dreams, but, um, I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon and, um, and I like to run that marathon and, and run it well, and, uh, so that's kind of a short term goal, um, is to, you know, 'cause I'm planning to run, I'm hopefully, you know, at least one marathon this year, you know, and I don't know how long it'll take because, uh, you know, first marathon took me like seven hours. My second marathon, it took me about just under five hours. So I still got a ways to go, you know, to qualify for Boston. But you know, that that's something that I, that I wanna do and I just wanna keep running marathons. Yeah. But still, that is incredible. And you'll be in the medical world running marathons and we'll always be cheering you on from Angel Flight. So I'm so happy we're able to help you. And you always know we will continue to assist you with flights wherever you need to go. Um, and I really appreciate you sharing your story with us. Well, thank you, Jessica. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. Yeah, thanks Ed. Have a good night. Oh, you too. Thank you. Bye bye-Bye.