AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2021 - 37

school. To leave the bustle of a big city for
the quiet surroundings of rural America and
the animals waiting for her at the ranch. She
just wanted to be home.
As we descended into Republic and
overflew the ranch, Lexi's eyes lit up and
she began to point out the landmarks she
recognized. A few minutes after landing,
two trucks pulled up at the sleepy airport
that stored more old construction trucks
than airplanes. In addition to Kathy and
Lexi's friend, Odeal, her grandparents and
other extended family came to say hello,
too. Lexi had been in the hospital continuously since before Christmas-more than
nine months-and this was much more of a
homecoming than I had expected.
After a brief visit full of smiles, hugs,
and tears of perhaps both joy and sorrow,
it was back to the airplane for the last leg of
the day. We took off as the sun was setting,
the sky turning black and filling with stars
that never appear in the city. With the calming hum of the engine, it wasn't long before

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my three passengers-Lexi and Odeal in the
back and Kathy up front-were fast asleep.
Kathy awoke as we descended over the
western foothills of the Cascades, with the
bright lights of Seattle ahead of us. In the
hour or so that she'd been asleep, we had
traveled a world away from Republic.
I got home that night tired from a long
day of flying, but gratified that everything had
worked out as planned, and humbled to have
been given the opportunity to see a family so
valiantly and positively take on adversity. As
I entered my last few flights from my paper
logbook into my electronic copy, I discovered
that shortly before landing back in Renton, I
had crossed the 500-hour mark, a personal
milestone that would further ensure this
would be a flight that I would never forget.
As it happened, this was the last Angel
Flight Brian and Kathy would take. Shortly
after the flight, Lexi's condition had
improved enough that she was released
from the hospital with a hopeful prognosis
and allowed to return home. I would have

loved for the story to end here. Sadly, after a
few months, Lexi's condition worsened, and
a little over a year after our flight, she died at
the age of 15, cancer once more taking a precious life far too soon.
When I first signed up to take this mission, I thought I was simply going to fly two
parents where they had to go and hopefully
make their lives just a bit easier. I never could
have imagined how much I would personally gain from the experience as I watched
a family navigate such a difficult time with
so much love and strength. It's an experience every pilot should know. Opportunities
abound to put flying skills to work for good.
As wonderful as it is to land with a full belly
after a $100 hamburger, there is no feeling
better than landing with a full heart.
In memory of Lexi Rose, 2002-2017.
JEREMY KATZ is an aeronautical engineer
at Boeing. He has been a pilot with Angel
Flight West since 2012 and currently
serves as its Washington Wing Leader.

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2021

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