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A Good Reaction: Northwest
Airlines KidCares Medical Travel Program Helps a Little Boy With
Severe Atopic Dermatitis
Craig Kotilinek, NWA World
Traveler Magazine
For more articles like this
visit
http://www.bridges4kids.org.
Devin Weekley was born with atopic dermatitis (eczema). About 15
million people in the United States have eczema and it’s
generally not a cause for concern. But Devin was different.
By age 2, it started getting bad. Everyone thought it was just
allergies. Then, during a span of two weeks, Devin’s eczema got
so bad that he couldn’t walk. Betsy Weekley, his mother, had to
push Devin around in a stroller at age 3.
In 2000, when Devin was 4 years old, the Weekleys took him to a
dermatologist at the University of Michigan and enrolled him in
a case study. Devin received the best drugs available, and for a
while, they did wonders for his condition. But, eventually, the
drugs stopped working. He would scratch until he bled.
Betsy tried everything. As mold and dust mites were the only
suspected culprits, she moved him into different bedrooms, got
hardwood floors, kept no pets – did everything short of building
a new house. But nothing worked.
Finally, she sent pictures of Devin to Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
Minn., in hopes that they could help. They could, but she would
have to get there first. Betsy, a mother of three, did not have
the money for plane tickets. She had all but given up hope when
a friend who was using Northwest Airlines WorldPerks miles saw a
donation advertisement. Before Betsy contacted KidCares, she and
Devin, who was 9 at the time, had accepted the fact that they
wouldn’t be able to get to their appointment. To their surprise,
KidCares was able to help.
While they were waiting to board the plane, they happened to
meet the pilot and accompanied him into the cockpit. Devin was
thrilled that he was able to wear the pilot’s hat and talk on
the p.a. system. “I was amazed at how wonderful everyone was,”
Betsy says, “and they didn’t know where we got our tickets, or
why we got them. But everyone was just so nice.”
Devin is now on a series of medications developed by Mayo that
keeps his immune system from fighting against his treatments. A
chemical involved in the making of paper and film development
was causing Devin’s reactions, and they are working to eliminate
that chemical from Devin’s environment. After years of wondering
what caused their son’s reactions, the Weekleys are finally
getting closer to finding come answers.
(Northwest Airlines created the KidCares medical travel program
as part of its AirCares charitable assistance commitment.
KidCares provides air travel to children 18 and younger (and one
parent or guardian) who are unable to receive treatment near
their home.)
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