Mission of Mercy: 934th Airman remembers mission, reunites with heart patient

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Mike Johnson
  • 934th Airlift Wing
Minneapolis, St. Paul --  I was invited to participate in a most unusual reunion that was held on May 15. It was a reunion celebrating a heart transplant for an infant that occurred more than 20 years ago. That infant's name is Andrew De La Pena, a college student at Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and he is now 21 years old. 

On December 23, 1986, I was serving with the North Dakota Air National Guard in Fargo, North Dakota as an F-4 Weapons Systems Officer (WSO). The F-4 was a two-seat fighter and I occupied the rear cockpit. On that particular night I was on air defense alert in Fargo at our alert facility. Our mission was to intercept and destroy any Soviet aircraft attempting to attack North America. We kept two F-4's along with crews and maintenance personnel to man the aircraft 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. On this particular night though, we were called to do something none of us had ever dreamed of. 

That night Fargo residents, Steve and Karen McCann, made a decision that saved a life. Tragically, their infant son, Michael had died of unknown causes. The McCann's courageously decided to donate their son's organs. Meanwhile, at the Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto, California, five month old Andrew De La Pena was dying from a heart disease that had already claimed the life of his older sister. A heart transplant was his only chance. When Michael McCann's name made the donor list, an organ harvest team from the Stanford Medical Center flew to Fargo in a business jet to harvest Michael's heart for Andrew. At this time heart transplants for infants were rare. The record for a heart being out of a body in 1986 was four hours. They were looking at five if everything went well. It didn't. After the surgery in Fargo to harvest the heart, the medical team (one surgeon and two nurses) boarded their jet for the trip back to California. Unfortunately, one of the engines wouldn't start. They tried numerous times to start the engine but it would not start. There were no other business jets available. 

The medical team from Stanford would not accept defeat. There were few options. It was suggested that they call the governor of North Dakota, George Sinner, and see if he could come up with a jet. They got the governor out of bed and he suggested a business jet from the University of North Dakota Aviation Department in Grand Forks, but it was decided that would take too long. The governor then decided to see if we at the NDANG could help. He contacted the State Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Alexander P. MacDonald who in turn called my group commander Col. Wallace Hegg. (We were groups back then and not wings in the ANG), Colonel Hegg called our Operations Dispatch Center (ODC) who then called the alert facility. 

The pilot I was crewed with that night was 1st Lt. Robert Becklund. Bob answered the call from our ODC and got everyone out of bed. It was decided that Bob and I would fly the heart to Hill AFB, UT to meet with a Stanford jet who would then take it the rest of the way. The F-4 was a gas guzzling airplane and could not make it all the way to the west coast without refueling and there were no tankers available for air refueling so we had to stop at Hill. The Stanford medical team was escorted into the alert facility. The surgeon told us that time was critical...that this heart was going to be out of a body longer than it should. The surgeon handed me the cooler that contained the heart; it was much larger than I expected. Bob and I climbed onboard and settled into our cockpits. 

I strapped in, grabbed the cooler and instantly realized we had a problem. The F-4 had dual flight controls. In other words, it had a control stick and throttles in the rear cockpit so it could be flown from the back. No matter how I moved the cooler, it interfered with the control stick. We discussed using a travel pod or removing the rear stick, but all of those would take too much time. There was a baby dying in California and we were out of time. I jumped out of the aircraft and placed the cooler on my seat and got the cooler strapped in. I then told Bob he would have to make the trip himself. We got Bob airborne quickly and he was on his way. After he launched we made a few phone calls to Minneapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC), Hill AFB, and the Stanford Medical Center just to make sure everyone was aware of what was happening. The Stanford jet never made it to Hill, so after refueling at Hill, Bob flew the heart to NAS Moffett, CA where Stanford medical personnel were waiting. 

We never heard much after that, other than the surgery had been a success and the baby was alive. The identities of donor and recipient families are carefully guarded. So we didn't get anymore information. I have to admit, after all these years I had kind of forgotten about it. Until a few months ago when Col. Robert Becklund, now Wing Commander of the NDANG, contacted me and asked if I would like to take part in a reunion of all the participants from that night. I obviously said yes.
This past May 15, I drove to Fargo and participated in a very special reunion. The donor family, the McCann's, courageously attended, as did the entire De La Pena family. Former governor, George Sinner, General MacDonald and Colonel Hegg were also there. Those of us on alert that night were also in attendance as well as one of the nurses from Stanford and other people from the medical community and invited guests. It was a very emotional experience. The heart was actually out for more than seven hours. 

I played a very small part in this entire experience. However, I really wanted to meet Andrew and his family. Andrew thanked me for quickly deciding to jump out of my seat and place his heart where I was supposed to be sitting. It was very humbling and emotional to meet Andrew's parents. They too expressed their gratitude.
It was amazing to meet this young man. He is an excellent student, been on the swim team, and water polo team. He has acted and modeled in California and will be studying abroad this summer somewhere in the Himalaya Mountains. Andrew is making the most of this tremendous gift. And myself, I feel very special and privileged to have taken part in that night long ago and in this very special reunion.