MAF flight saves teen attacked by bandits

Heading home after a Friday night out in Ambatomainty, a remote village in Western Madagascar, Tahiana was viciously attacked by bandits. 

He had tried to defend himself, but his assailants were armed. They stabbed him in the lower back, beaten him up and left him bleeding and barely alive and in atrocious condition. 

A stranger passing on a motorcycle became the boy’s unlikely saviour. He rushed him to the nearest hospital and sped off to find the boy’s family.

Monique, his mother was stunned by the news. Just hours earlier, they had been celebrating together, only to be separated on the way home. She passed out when she heard what had happened and, when she regained consciousness, she was rushed to the hospital. “When I arrived at the hospital and saw his condition, my legs were trembling. I didn’t know what to do,” Monique said.

The local hospital in Ambatomainty did what it could. With limited staff and little equipment, they managed to stabilise the boy’s condition. But without diagnostic tools like scanners or X-rays, staff feared the worst - organ damage, infection, or worse.

The road to the capital Antananarivo, the only place with the equipment and care he desperately needed, would take four to five gruelling days in a 4x4 or a truck. His family knew their injured boy would suffer greatly if he had to endure several days on a bad and bumpy road.

Desperate, the boy’s mother turned to a local pastor who knew of MAF’s lifesaving work and is the point of contact for people in need of such medevacs. 

Early the next day, a MAF plane was ready to fly with a doctor on board. When pilot Patrick Keller landed in the community, the boy was near a truck with an IV attached as he waited in the shade under the 35-degree heat. 

The doctor assessed his condition. “It is hurting me, but I can talk,” Tahiana said, before being carried on board the plane.

The boy and his family were soon en route to a hospital in the capital city of Antananarivo, which took a flight of 50 minutes. 

Upon landing, an ambulance from the hospital arranged by the family whisked him away for specialized care.

Just days later, the news came through that no organs were damaged, and Tahiana’s infection was under control. 

“He’ll be out of the hospital in a few days,” his mother said. 

Reflecting on the urgent weekend mission, Patrick said, “This is why we’re here. Too often, people wait too long, and it’s too late. Thankfully, they called in time.”