Kestrel's First Ever Mission

It’s been 7 years since Kestrel Aero started. We have gone through so many Medevac at this point but there is one we will never forget. And it’s the one that started it all.

Our FIRST ever mission which is known as the Baby Loc mission.

Here’s a little introduction if you have not heard of Baby Loc. Loc Pham Duc Loc also known as Baby Loc was found abandoned at Van Buc Temple in Vietnam’s southern coastal province of Ben Tre in July 2016. Taken in by the temple, he had hydrocephalus, an abnormal build-up of the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain. Loc was treated at two hospitals in Vietnam but was pronounced incurable by the doctor after 2 surgeries.

Learning of his plight, the Vietnamese community in Singapore suggested that he be brought to Singapore for treatment. As reported in the news, Baby Loc arrived here in Singapore on January 2017 and admitted to KK Women and Children’s Hospital where his condition improved after several operations.

After restaurant owner Nguyen Hong Thao set up an online crowdfunding page to raise money for his treatments, his fight for survival caught the attention of many Singaporeans. The campaign raised more than $100,000. One of the Singaporeans was Mr Louis Ng, MP for Nee Soon GRC, who helped call for donations on Facebook and visited Baby Loc several times.

As mentioned above, Baby Loc was brought in on January 2017. That was the first time he was in Singapore. Unfortunately, we were not the ones who brought him here as we were yet to be established. Our Baby Loc mission was when he was brought in for the second time to KK Hospital. Even though it might seem like it would be less stressful, it was not that for our team.

We were thoroughly excited when we first got this mission. We received this call from SGIH to coordinate this mission in which we had to find a Medical Team, Aircraft Operator and also coordinate ground movements to ensure that Baby Loc has a smooth flight. As this was a complicated mission, we had to acquire an incubator which we had to source it out ourselves. As we had built a contact base prior to this mission, we knew who to call to ask for an incubator for the mission.

Our team worked through the night to ensure every part of this mission was covered so that we can run it smoothly. In some ways, we were blessed as even though it was our first Medevac, we didn’t hit any kind of blockage that disrupts the flow of it. This was only the beginning. We prayed for a smooth flight with no complications, and we’re glad we got that.

When Baby Loc and the Vietnamese representatives arrived in Singapore, we received them from outside the terminal. They shared their gratitude to us for the smooth and successful flight. We were more than glad that everything turned out well. Kestrel also raised some funds to provide Baby Loc some baby diapers.

22/03/2024