Press Release                                                                                                             

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                             
Chloe Shelby, PR Consultant
2702 Love Field Drive
Telephone: (405) 808-4837
Email: <cshel@sw.org>
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SOUTHWEST AIRLINES’ FLIGHT 812 EMERGENCY LANDING
DALLAS, Texas — Southwest Airlines’ Flight 812 performed an emergency landing following a take-off from Phoenix, Ariz. The aircraft had a fuselage rupture, causing a hole to form in the top of the aircraft. The plane landed successfully without any passengers experiencing major injuries.

Southwest Airlines’ Flight 812 was scheduled to land in Sacramento, Calif. However, at take off, the plane encountered a fuselage burst that created a hole in the aircraft. The 737 Boeing plane had been inspected before flight; nonetheless, the skin of the plane did have some cracks that caused the rupture.

Many passengers, unaware of what was occurring, became distraught from the loud noises and confusion.
“I heard a massive explosion and looked up and saw clear blue sky where the top of the plane should have been,” said Cary Dunnan, a passenger. “I started to pray for a miracle and an incredible pilot.”

The pilot safely landed the plane from 36,000 feet to 11,000 feet altitude. The successful landing ended in applause from the 118 people aboard.
“Thankfully, we had a very experienced pilot,” a passenger said. “I believe that we owe our very lives to him.”

There were no serious injuries. The only injury was a flight attendant, who fell and hit his nose.
Southwest Airlines quickly took action following the flight. To perform a precautionary safety inspection of its other aircrafts, Southwest Airlines cancelled about 300 flights the following day. It is Southwest Airlines’ top priority to regain the confidence and trust of its passengers.

In total, Southwest cancelled roughly 600 flights that weekend to check the older planes for similar cracks as those found on the ruptured plane. The older planes will gradually be replaced with new models.

Samantha Ingle, frequent passenger of Southwest planes, said, “an accident is frightening, but knowing that Southwest Airlines is doing everything they can to keep their planes safe reassures me as a Southwest flyer.”

Southwest Airlines accommodated the passengers affected by the flight with expense-free lodging and promptly rescheduled their flights. Keeping passengers’ safety at the forefront, Southwest transported their passengers to their destinations as soon as reasonably possible.
   
“Following the accident, we checked that each plane was in proper condition for a safe flight,” said a Southwest Airlines employee. “I don’t believe Southwest will have any similar problems in the future.”



For more information contact Southwest Airlines Communication Department (405) 808-4837, or by email at: <cshel@sw.org>
                   

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Feature Story

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Lauren Beth Brick, a five year old, skipped into St. Anthony’s hospital with her mom in tow. This was her first follow up test after fighting off Wilms cancer three months prior. To Lauren, it was a lifetime ago and she had already forgotten about the surgery, complications, and chemotherapy. But to her mother, it was yesterday.

Lauren’s fragile mother, Abby, looked as though every moment waiting for the verdict was hurting her and that every word could send her crumbling to the floor. Lauren, on the other hand, was strongly pushing forward waiting to hear if the cancer had come back for another fight.

Abby felt the swelling in Lauren’s stomach when she was putting her into her pink ballet leotard a year prior to Lauren’s surgery and chemotherapy. Lauren’s mother wrote it off as nothing and charged ahead in their busy lives filled with Disney songs, ballet slippers, and fruit loops.

Side effects are rare in Wilms Cancer, therefore, Lauren was behaving the same as every other carefree girl in her daycare, ballet class, and gymnastics class.
Her parents remained in the dark, as Lauren’s tumor grew larger and larger in her kidney each day.
“We had no idea that anything was wrong with Lauren until the tumor was so large we could feel it on both sides of her stomach,” Abby whimpered. “The guilt of not realizing something was wrong with my baby girl pained me everyday we waited at the hospital.”
As months passed, the tumor began to affect Lauren noticeably with a decrease in appetite and whimpers about her stomach hurting. These remarks caused the Brick parents to become worried and they set up an appointment at the hospital right away.

The Brick family brought Lauren to St. Anthony and the hospital seemed to brighten as the small child walked in. Lauren had a contagious smile, innocent laughter, a zest for life, and a large tumor that was stealing life from her tiny body.

St. Anthony’s team worked diligently to find what was wrong with Lauren. After laboratory tests and x-rays, the doctors diagnosed her with Wilms cancer.
Currently, there are no preventative measures to most cancers in children, including Wilms. Wilms tumor’s factors are unchangeable: age, race, gender, and specific inherited conditions.

The St. Anthony doctors assured the Bricks they did all that they could for their child and had brought her to the right place.
St. Anthony determinedly set off to create her treatment plan. Lauren was already in Stage III when she was brought to St. Anthony’s. Stage III is more serious because the cancer spreads beyond the kidneys; Lauren’s cancer had spread to her liver.

Doctors planned to do surgery first to get the major tumor out. They would then use chemotherapy to kill all the remaining cancerous cells.
Complications arose during surgery when the size of the tumor was larger than the doctors had expected. However, the St. Anthony doctors succeeded in removing it all with expertise and determination. The use of chemotherapy after the surgery got rid of all of the remaining cancer cells.

After surgery, Lauren developed a rare problem as a result, an infection. An infection in small children can cause damaging problems in their recovery process.
Worry, anger, and fear are common feelings people experience when they run into different issues in the recovery process. However, St. Anthony encouraged the family to trust in the Lord and to start praying.

“St. Anthony has a prayer box for patients and loved ones to submit a prayer request,” Mr. Brick said. “I do not doubt that everyone working in that hospital said a prayer for Lauren.”

The Brick family’s prayers were answered and the infection cleared up within a few weeks and Lauren started to feel better.
After four months of surgery and chemotherapy, the Brick family got to leave the hospital and return to their cancer-free home.
“Lauren had a rare type of cancer, along with the most challenging problems that usually does not occur after surgery in our patients,” Lauren’s doctor stated. “However, the Brick family remained strong throughout the entire process.”

St. Anthony nurses and doctors treated the Bricks as family and were their rock during the hard times and long days. They understood how difficult it was to watch a loved one suffering when there is nothing to be done besides praying and waiting.
The Brick family and St. Anthony utilized the power of prayer, which helped Lauren get through her surgery and the complications following it.
“St Anthony really helped me as a mother realize that prayer and trust in the Lord could help my family, alongside Lauren, get through this agonizing time,” Abby declared.
The checkup proved that Lauren Brick was free of cancer and a healthy little girl. St. Anthony’s staff watched as Abby Brick blew out the breath she had been holding since she had arrived with her precious child to hear her results.

— Chloe Shelby

For more information, visit www.wilmscancer.com or call (405) 333-4444.