Volunteer pilot and Angel Flight East save Thanksgiving for Indiana Township brain cancer patient
Special brain cancer treatments out of state could have kept an Indiana Township woman away from her family on Thanksgiving. Thanks to a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight East, a non-profit program, she's home for the holiday.
"It's crazy how your life changes in a minute and you have no control of it," said Gina Runyan, a former labor delivery nurse for 35 years with UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and whose brain cancer was discovered after she suffered a seizure in January.
Angel Flight East arranged for a private jet and its volunteer pilot to get Runyan and her husband Randy back home from a clinical trial treatment at Duke University.
"I had brain surgery last week, which required a lot of visits back and forth from Pennsylvania to North Carolina," Runyan said.
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The two-hour flight to Butler County Airport spared Runyan an eight-hour drive and saved her family Thanksgiving.
"I just wanted to cry all day, I was so excited," Runyan told Pittsburgh's Action News 4.
John Greco, of Lower Burrell, is the pilot who provided the trip via Angel Flight East at no charge.
"It means a lot. I immediately volunteered for this flight, because I saw that Gina and Randy needed to be home for Thanksgiving," Greco said.
"I can't thank the Angel Flight East people enough. They are amazing people to donate their time, and they're so generous and thoughtful," Runyan said.
Gina and Randy Runyan and Greco shared a holiday hug before the couple left to spend Thanksgiving with their family, including three grandchildren.
"I'm going to do everything possible to to fly them as much as I can," Greco said.
The next opportunity may be Nov. 30. Runyan's next day of appointments at Duke is Dec. 1.