| It’s 2:00 am. It‘s raining and it’s dark. A child was born earlier this evening in Mathew’s Ridge, North West District, (a sparsely populated black and Amerindian community located at Barima Waini, Region One). The child’s breathing is in trouble.”Those words were posted on the social media website (Facebook) of Former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Major, Captain Gerry Gouveia as he monitored a Medical Evacuation Operation (Medivac), last December.He recalled doctors had said that the newborn needed to be brought to the city urgently and a medivac was launched under the command of Captain Colin Martin and his son, Captain Gerry Gouveia Jr.During those critical moments, Captain Gouveia said ”coffee,” was his only companion.He monitored the plane on a tracking device as he anticipated the return of his son.“The child’s life (hung) in the balance and every two minutes we get a hint on its location from the satellites,” Gouveia stated.Suspense, sacrifice and risk are all consonants to the process of the medical evacuation service .A service vital to preserving the lives of those resident,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, seeking employment or adventure in Guyana’s Hinterland regions.As Chief Executive Officer of Roraima Group of Companies, Captain Gouveia has spearheaded numerous similar rescue operations.According to Gouveia, Roraima Group of Companies has been a premier entity for providing medical evacuation services to persons in the interior for a number of decades. The service is driven by a passion for saving lives. An attribute, Captain Gouveia said he developed during the early stages of his military career.EARLY EXPERIENCESHe remembers that in the early days, as a young GDF pilot,Arron Afflalo Jersey, there weren’t any technologies or such tracking devices.“We did not have the technology. So,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, we had to find ways to mark out the maps and set up run ways in the Amerindian settlements. We would teach them (the Amerindians) how to make bottle lamps (flambeaus) and tie them on sticks to line and create makeshift runways that we would see them when we were going into the jungle at night.”During those periods, the young army captain lead a number of national emergencies, search and rescue operations, evacuated ailing pregnant mothers, as well as those who suffered from venomous snake bites and other serious health conditions to access adequate medical care in the city.The businessman noted that while there are numerous medical missions who visit the interior annually to provide care, the service is still vital.He explained that Medivac was strictly a business for the army but the GDF over time lost the capability.The work is designed for experienced pilots and response teams. As such, after leaving the military and entering the Private Sector, Captain Gouveia continued the business of saving lives by establishing the medical evacuation service and emergency response system under the Roraima Group of Companies. The service collaborates with the Ministry of Public Health.The Health Ministry, he says pays the bill for the medivac and would provide trained medical personnel (doctor) to accompany flight crew on the operation.SACRIFICE AND REWARDNevertheless, the service comes at great sacrifice to staff of Roraima Airways.Gouveia says, “We always have to have staff (response team) and vehicles on standby. We have pilots with a high degree of experience because flying in the jungle at nights is very complex and dangerous. A lot of times, we are actually risking lives to save lives.”According to Captain Gouveia,Nike Air Max Sale Australia, emergency rescue pilots are always on call even on Christmas Day.“I had to leave my family one Christmas but the satisfaction of helping to save a life is rewarding.”“A baby would born with all the crevices blocked with hours to live. Our task is to fly into the interior and fly out in time to ensure that child accesses the advanced medical care. We would get there in the nick of time. But the satisfaction of knowing that you made a difference in one child’s life is our reward,” he added.While the team has had a high degree of success, there are some instances where lives were lost. “Sometimes it’s either the baby or the mother. We have had babies born on a plane”.COMMITMENTAccording to Captain Gouveia, commitment to the Medical Evacuation service is tied to the concept of living his life with a social conscience.“I think every Guyanese should give back and for me the best way to give back is through the medical evacuation services. Someone once asked what makes Roraima different?”It isnt what we do or how we do it rather it is why we do, what we do.”“ We help to save lives, create employment and promote Guyana,” Captain Gouveia emphasized.Throughout the years,Cheap NFL Jerseys, Captain Gouveia said he has witnessed many life changing events. But as a pilot for over 40 years, he has also witnessed national tragedies, some of which will forever be engraved in the nation’s history.SURVIVING JONESTOWNSome 38 years ago, the murder of a United States congressman had occurred on Guyanese soil. Congressman Leo Ryan was part of mass murder/suicide carried out at Jonestown,Wholesale NHL Jerseys 2020, Port Kaituma, North West District. The vicious act of terrorism perpetrated by religious leader Jim Jones and his followers claimed 918 souls. The event is said to be the largest act of terrorism in modern history resulting in the deliberate loss of American civilian until the September 9/11 bombings.As a part of the GDF Aircorps, Captain Gouveia led a rescue operation into Jonestown. He shared his experience in yet another intriguing social media post, earlier this year.The captain recalled circling overhead Portkaituma at 6:00 am, possibly at the height of massacre. “(We) circling at 6,000 feet and slowly descending because we were not sure if the gunmen would open fire on the plane as we prepared to land.“Slowly, slowly we descended peeping through the cloud cover to see the ground and the gunmen. My stomach was in my throat, but I had my orders!!! Land and extract the survivors.”The brave young army pilot therefore landed the plane and started his mission to evacuate survivors from among dead bodies scattered on the ground, some with heads blown open and faces spread open on the floor.” Among the survivors, he recalled was a beautiful young woman, who was badly shot.She was bleeding badly and losing blood rapidly. Time was of the essence to remove the injured woman and get her to safety. Gouveia said that woman’s life was saved in the nick of time.“She lived. She recovered. And she became a United States Congresswoman.”Captain Gouveia met Congresswoman Jackie Speier, for the first time in Washington D.C, in June.She was the assistant to Congressman Ryan when he was killed by the Jonestown gunmen. After recovering, Speier ran for office and won the same seat that was vacated by Leo Ryan.Congresswoman Speier later wrote a book about her Jonestown experience.In a signed copy of her book titled “This is not the life I ordered,” the congresswoman expressed tremendous gratitude to Captain Gouveia for his work as an emergency response pilot. |
