Welcome to Paul and Cathy's blog . . . . . please scroll down for new posts

Let us introduce ourselves.

Our names are Paul and Cathy Middleton.


That's us clinging to the top of an engine on one of the planes we used to fly.
You can find out about how we got to be where we are in the 'A short history of us' on the right (quite an interesting story if we say so ourselves).

This blog is basically a collection of the e-mail updates we have sent out since we joined Mercy Air in 2003, as well as some of the personal family activities we have got up to. Click on a year and read from bottom to top and it should give you a good idea of what we do.

More Limpopo Eye Cataract Surgery

This last Saturday Paul flew another eye cataract surgery team to Limpopo and back.

The team give their time for free and travel to a rural hospital to perform operations for people who otherwise would not get the chance to receive this life changing procedure.

As they are all professionals and time is tight, our flight saves them a 12 hour round trip drive, which would obviously be prohibitive.

The team just before boarding on a cold and blustery morning in Johannesburg.

 

Just over two hours later we're in the hospital and the first patients are receiving their 'block'.

They are then taken to theater where the surgeons remove the cataracts...

 ..and insert a new lens.

This continues all day until we have to leave to drive to the airport to take off just before dark.

You will be happy to know that my responsibilities never extend past getting everybody there and back safely. Other than that I am only ever an observer!

Not a brilliant picture in itself but included as the last person seen was a 99 year old lady. It is heartening to know that everybody has the opportunity to benefit from what is made possible by these flights.

The team worked tirelessly all day and now another 15 people will be able to lead a more normal life.

After all the activity, all that was left was the drive to the airport and complete the 1h30 flight back in the dark into a still cold and blustery Johannesburg.

Thank you

Paul and Cathy

Limpopo Eye Cataract Surgery

Flew the eye cataract surgery team to Limpopo again this last weekend.

A big day out, but 15 people can now see again.

 

A night flight to get to Johannesburg to pick the team up.

 The team just before we took off from Jhb.

 

In theater at the hospital in Limpopo.

Fifteen operations completed..

Sun set on the way back.

Landing in Johannesburg at night.

 

Thank you

 

Paul and Cathy

Little Fish in a Big Pond

Sometimes I feel all big and growed up - until I park alongside something like this during a recent visit to pick passengers up at Jo'burg International Airport.

Thank you

Paul

 

Disaster Response Training

At roughly the same time as the food relief, Mercy Air hosted a course aimed at providing a more streamlined response to the natural disasters southern Africa frequently endures. Mission Aviation Fellowship and Rescue SA joined us for a few days where we talked through and practiced various scenarios that would help us be more efficient during future disasters.

This mainly revolved around the helicopter and its sling loading capability, but also involved an exercise to develop the best way to transport a semi-rigid rescue boat, even cross border from RSA to an affected neighbouring country.

About to play Rescue Boat Tetris!

Turns out this shape doesn't fit into this hole

Plan B involved further deflation and folding in half

Using this method two boats and two engines can be accommodated

Thank you

Paul and Cathy

Relief Food Aid

One of our next tasks came as a result of some local protest action regarding land claims.

Because the protesters has barred access roads a number of local communities had become cut off and their supplies of food were running low.

We were contacted and arrangements were made to deliver the supplies to Mercy Air for us to fly into nearby airstrips.

Truck delivery to Mercy Air

About a tonne loaded

On arrival, a human chain was formed to offload the supplies

It was then distributed to the various locations by vehicle

Thank you

Paul and Cathy

Biblica, Chimoio, Mozambique

In case you think we've been a bit quiet recently, the next few posts provide an update on what we've been doing the last few weeks/months.

OK, we must admit that we had a quiet January but that wasn't totally a bad thing. January is typically cyclone season in Mozambique and there were a number of storms that threatened the area.

Despite numerous alerts, most of the cyclones either didn't make it across Madagascar or dissipated in the Mozambique Chanel before reaching Mozambique. Although we feel for the population of Madagascar, we are grateful that no further damage was done and that our services weren't required.

Our first foray to Mozambique was to fly a team from an organisation named Biblica (https://www.biblica.com/). They print bibles for distribution around the globe.

Through local pastors they had given bibles to an area in Mozambique where they estimated that 400 churches would be planted as a result. Reports came back that 1600 churches had been planted, and our group went to verify the story and to interview people that had been affected by their donation.

It was a short but intense visit and we hit the ground running. Two South African missionaries drove us deep into the bush to visit churches that had received the bibles.

The reception was always joyous and animated with enthusiastic singing and dancing with congregations waiting many hours to welcome us.

 

Many were keen to show the bibles that had received

Despite their poverty, people gave gifts as a response for their appreciation. As they had little or no money, this often amounted to staple food. It can not be underestimated how much of a sacrifice this was.

Even as we left each location, people were keen to display their feelings.

Due to some delays with customs at Beira, our port of entry in Mozambique, and the weather being generally quite grim, we were late at most churches and some we only got to after dark.

We visited countless villages and conducted numerous interviews to verify the reports they had received.

As previously mentioned, the weather was awful and out of the 14 hours I spent flying the team, I spent 7 of them in a cloud or rain. What a bonus then that one of the team was a captain who flies Boeing 757/767s for Delta Airways out of Atlanta. It was a privilege to share the front seats with him and tap into each others knowledge base.

Paul and Alex Oakland - the unlikely First Officer!

Thank you

Paul and Cathy

Four Day Limpopo Medical Outreach

Paul and Cathy both took part in a four day medical trip to Limpopo.

Paul set off early to collect specialists from Johannesburg...

 

..whilst Cathy flew up in the helicopter.

We based out of a bush strip just outside the Kruger Park in the north of South Africa.

One night we saw footprints in the sand of elephants that had walked right past the aircraft.

The team was 12 strong and included a dentist, optometrist, GP, two midwifes, evangelists and a team from Tin Soldiers (www.tinsoldiers.org) who specialise in Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva which attacks the body's muscular skeletal system.

Each day the helicopter flew the various teams to different clinics.

 

 

https://www.flyingforlife.co.za/blog/unite-against-cancer

Cathy with one of the ladies she helped

In all we did close on 60 flights and the teams saw about 330 people.

The Tin Soldiers guys were keen to publicise what they did and had bought a film crew with them. Paul got interviewed on the last day. Apparently the cameramen had previously worked on Survivor and The Amazing Race!

Lights, camera, action!

Whilst there we stayed in bush tents...

..and were a few kilometers away from some cove paintings.

Thank you

Paul and Cathy