TRAVERSE CITY -- Soaring from a teenager's idea to budding institution at two hospitals with more on the horizon, Sky High Hope has taken off this year.
In northern Michigan, patients at Munson's Infusion Clinic and Dialysis Clinic get a dose of fun with their treatment thanks to young volunteers with Sky High Hope.
With laptop, joystick and Microsoft Flight Simulator in tow, these members of Northwestern Michigan College's AEROS program visit these clinics regularly to play with patients. For an hour or so, patients transcend discomfort, fear or boredom by flying a plane of their choice from any airport to anywhere in the world.
"It's fantastic, a lot of fun," said Bill Watson of Elmwood Township, one of the first Sky High Hope participants at the Dialysis Clinic. "I had them put in Sinop, Turkey, where I was [in the Army] and it found it, a little grassy strip right on the Black Sea."
Watson and two dozen other people affiliated with the clinics enjoyed a spin in the real world thanks to a Fly-In Sunday afternoon based at the college's aviation facility. Kevin Query, creator of Sky High Hope, coordinated the opportunity with the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 234 based in Traverse City.
Five aircraft flown by EAA pilots gave patients, clinic personnel and program supporters a short jaunt over the Grand Traverse Bay. Each landing saw beaming faces emerge from the small planes.
"He loved it, he thought it was so cool," said Jeanette Jeffrey, about son Keaton, 6, who is in remission from leukemia. "Despite his tragic situation, how wonderful the opportunities we've been blessed with."
Kevin Query, who will be a freshman next year at Traverse City Central High School, launched Sky High Hope in late 2007.
Now 14 and with goal of being a pilot as a career, he had been searching for a way to contribute to others. His family brainstormed before deciding to leverage Kevin's passion for flying in general and Microsoft Flight Simulator specifically.
"He's always been very good working with children, it's always been a gift," added Kevin's mom, Anne, of the final piece of the puzzle.
Kevin was already a member of the AEROS program, a flight program geared to teens ages 13-16, so he and his dad, Mike, talked to Bill Donberg, director of AEROS. With Donberg's enthusiastic support and a tip from a neighbor steering them to Munson's Infusion Clinic, Kevin and his dad approached Munson.
They received a green light after letting Munson personnel such as Rebecca Asper, R.N., the Infusion Clinic manager, have a crack at the Flight Simulator. The captivating program quickly demonstrated its potential to help chemo patients.
Kevin began bringing his father's laptop to the clinic in November, receiving an enthusiastic reception from patients of all ages.
"The thing that they've got going is it's so simple," said Donberg of the Sky High Hope concept, noting that about six AEROS members now participate.
That simplicity was demonstrated again when Donberg flew Kevin and his dad to Cincinnati in April to present Sky High Hope at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
"There were four nurses sitting there and it didn't take them ten minutes," said Donberg of Sky High Hope's second location. "They were just looking for stuff to keep their [patients'] minds occupied."
Mike Query has been contacting children's hospitals around the state and Midwest about Sky High Hope. Their next visit is to Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids in July. While his dad opens the door, the Sky High Hope presentation and demonstration are Kevin's domain.
"This is a no-charge franchise, a turnkey operation," said Mike Query. "Nurses just have to give us the time."
As they share Sky High Hope with other children's hospitals, founders plan to keep it grounded in youth aviation programs. Since the AEROS program is not widely available in other communities, they are talking with the Experimental Aircraft Association because chapters nationwide offer a Young Eagles program.
Duplicating Sky High Hope has one significant hurdle, noted Donberg: finding young volunteers with the maturity, friendliness and compassion of Sky High Hope's founder.
"The thing is to get kids like Kevin," he said.
Back in northern Michigan, Sky High Hope is working around a different limitation: enough equipment to satisfy patient enthusiasm. Some help came this spring from the Women's Auxiliary of Fife Lake American Legion Post 219, who purchased a laptop and joystick for Munson's Dialysis Clinic.
"I was really excited about Kevin's project and I still am, because Kevin was young and because he was doing something for the community," said Eileen Dobson, treasurer of the auxiliary who in January read the initial article about the program in the Grand Traverse Herald.
For more information on Sky High Hope, see their Web site www.skyhighhope.com.
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