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A little girl out

A little girl out in the jungle is suffering from a snake bite tonight. About 3:30 PM I was at the hangar when the hospital called, wondering if there was someone who could fly out and pick up a girl who was bit by an equis, a very venomous snake. By the time I tracked down Sandy, who was the pilot on call, and got him back to the hangar, time was dwindling. Getting a flight out and back at such a late hour of the day might not be possible. By 4:15 PM we realized the flight wouldn't be happening today. The information on the girl and her exact location was vague. Sandy would need at least two hours for the flight plan, fueling, preflight, the half-hour flight each way, and the necessary time on the ground. That meant he wouldn't get back until after sunset, and planes don't land here in Shell after sunset. The indian kids in the jungle are so stoic, and seem to have a high tolerance for pain. The life they live is so different from ours. I can't imagine havine to wait overnight before I could take my snake bitten child to the emergency room. I pray she's still alive in the morning, and that a pilot can fly out to pick her up. The hospital here in Shell is well staffed with Christian doctors who can take good care of her.