Darleane Durham, former resident of Picayune, Miss., was scheduled for surgery before Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast.Her doctor had prescribed strong narcotic painkillers to make life bearable until they could remove her fibroid tumors. But the day before her operation, she received a call from the staff at the hospital in Gulfport saying, “All surgeries were cancelled until after the storm.” Hospital officials couldn’t have realized at the time what an understatement that was.”My sister’s family was one of the lucky ones,” said Colorado Springs resident Trish Sevits. In spite of the fact that Picayune is located on the Mississippi River only 35 miles north of New Orleans, the Durham home sustained little damage. Trees littered the ground, but the family was safe. However, Durham was in severe pain and needed her operation immediately.”I wasn’t able to get in touch with my sister for a week, but when I did talk to her, I could hear how much pain she was in,” Sevits said. “Durham’s prescription ran out and FEMA wouldn’t help.” Durham suffered for a number of days before she was able to get through to her doctor, Sevits said. He renewed the prescription but advised her to locate a hospital that could perform the surgery quickly.Durham was trying to find a ride to Colorado. Sevits offered to drive down to Picayune and bring Durham and her two boys, Caleb, and JP back to Colorado. She also called the Academy Women’s Health Clinic, and they agreed to see Durham right away. But both women feared the long ride would be too painful.That’s when Mark Shook and Dave Bennett, pilots from Meadow Lake Airport, volunteered their skills and their time. Shook said, “It’s amazing how things came together.” Sevits uncle gave her $600 for the trip, but since she was able to stay here, Shook and Sevits took the money, plus additional funds donated by Shook and his mother, and purchased medical supplies and over-the-counter children’s medicines to take down to Mississippi.On Sunday Sept. 11, at 5:30 in the morning, Shook and Bennett took off for Picayune; they were back in Falcon by 6:30 that evening. Durham and her two sons will be staying in the Springs with Sevits family. They send their “thanks” to the “Falcon Professional Development League” who donated the money for the fuel, and everyone involved in the effort, especially Shook and Bennett.
