How a nonprofit is helping a little girl get lifesaving surgery — with a private flight to California
LANSDALE, Pa. (CBS) — Islia Stewart's smile, singing and dance moves will instantly make your day.
"One of her favorite movies is actually 'Phantom of the Opera,' and she sings 'Phantom of the Opera' all the time," her mom Victoria Stewart said.
But behind that ball of energy, the 3-year-old from Montgomery County has a rare heart and lung congenital defect.
Her parents say she is receiving care locally at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and now an aviation nonprofit is helping her get to California for heart surgery. Her family says their prayers were answered.
"You are saving a little girl's life because, without the surgery, you just don't know how long that heart will hold up," Islia's grandfather Daniel Cirotti said.
Getting Islia across the country has been a challenge, and they already tried once on a commercial flight.
"They can't do surgery on sick children, and unfortunately when we arrived for the first time, she got sick, so we had to come all the way back," her dad said.
This time around they were going to rent an RV — until AeroAngel came into the picture.
AeroAngel is a national aviation charity that provides a safe option for children to travel to their medical care across the country at no cost to their families.
"A private jet flight like this would have a retail value of $60,000," AeroAngel Executive Director Mark Pestal said.
"Some of the flights we get are donated by corporate flight departments, chartered companies or individual owners. Others we have to use our emergency fund to pay for a flight," Pestal said
Pestal said one flight a year can save a life.
"The goal is to make sure we are not missing any kids that might need a flight, and to do that we need to build the program," Pestal said.
Islia's family wants to help others too.
"We want to get it out there. Pay it forward," her grandmother Patricia Cirotti said
The family says they are so grateful for the support from CHOP and everyone who has helped them along the way.
Islia will head to California on Thursday. The family is getting the jet out of Reading.
