{"id":2979,"date":"2019-12-12T15:22:47","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T15:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marereport.namma.org\/?p=560"},"modified":"2025-04-01T12:25:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T12:25:39","slug":"the-flight-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/","title":{"rendered":"The Flight Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo: Fidel Labrador with Susanne Hergoss, Felix Tolle, and Dr. Wolfgang Baumeier. Deutsches Seemannsheim Hamburg – Krayenkamp.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Susan Huppert, NAMMA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dotted\naround the globe are people drawn by compassion to care for those who work at\nsea. An interlocking of hands and hearts provides hope and encouragement to\nfamilies of seafarers, spiritual nourishment to those who request it,\nprofessional support to those who need it and personal comfort to those who\nseek it.  The tradition of caring for\nseafarers is as old as the profession, yet often due to the brief time a\nseafarer is in port, the care is limited. But in Hamburg, Germany, the story is\ndifferent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fidel\nLabrador, A Filipino seafarer, began his seafaring experience as a young man when\nhe traveled to Germany. There he completed his seafaring education and secured\nwork as an Able Bodied Seaman. Fidel sailed for seven shipping companies during\nhis career under the German flag. As is common for the Filipino seafarers, Fidel\nlived geographically independent and remained strongly committed to his family\nsending much of his earning home for their care over the years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working\nat sea provides ample challenges for even a seasoned worker like Fidel.\nSeafarers are trained to navigate unique and tumultuous situations. But, no\nmanual, map or previous experience could prepare Fidel for the personal\nchallenges he faced in the early autumn of 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands\nof miles from his home or family, Fidel suffered a severe heart attack while\nashore followed by an emergency heart surgery. He remained in Intensive Care\nfor an extended time. The humble worker of the sea suffered other medical\ncomplications and \u201cdangers for his life\u201d according to Dr. Wolfgang Baumeier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter\na long time in the Hamburg hospital he was transferred to a foster home in\nHamburg. Due to a stroke, he was forced to stay in bed,\u201d reported Dr. Baumeier.\nThe courageous seafarer, dedicated father and husband could not use his arms\nproperly or eat and drink by himself. He was unable to walk or care for\nhimself. Even speaking was difficult.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout\nhis career at sea, he frequented the Seaman\u2019s Mission in Hamburg where, among\nother services, hotel-like accommodations are available. The mission serves\n25,000 seafarers annually with a view of supporting the dignity of such workers.\nThis defined purpose was exemplified in Fidel\u2019s story as strong relationships\nwere built between Fidel and the mission staff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\nknew him for a long time,\u201d said Felix Tolle, a manager at the mission. \u201cHe was\na very friendly, humorous and life-affirming person.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ncrew of the Hamburg mission humbly took over the tasks of his daily living, sustaining\nhis dignity as they cared for Fidel during his long recovery. Grateful for his\ncare, Fidel still longed to go home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\nnearly a year, a pastor of the Northern Church of Germany who heard the story,\ncontacted Dr. Baumeier inquiring about the costs of an ambulance flight from\nGermany to the Philippines. Dr. Baumeier, the chair of a foundation: Stifung\nSeemannshilfe \u2013 Deutsche Evangelische Seemannshilfe with a background as a\nflight doctor understood Fidel\u2019s need to be with his loved ones. He provided\nhis personal knowledge with medical evacuation and international repatriation\nas a cross-section of church and medical partners coordinated efforts to\nreunite a sick sailor with his family.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nHamburg mission started a public donation campaign including a GoFundMe account\nto finance the ambulance flight. Local media began to cover the story of the\nstruggling seafarer and people began donating money for the cause. Ultimately,\nthe funds raised were not enough for an ambulance flight, but did provide almost\n13,000 euros for a business class flight for Fidel and his caregivers. All\nseemed to be progressing well but when the flight was booked, an obstacle arose.\nFidel was declared unfit to fly because of his failing health.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weeks\nlater the seafarer\u2019s mission reached out to Dr. Baumeier asking for help and\nadvice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\nvisited Fidel in the foster home and checked his situation and found out that\nwith some physical education he should be able to sit in the business class\naircraft chair,\u201d wrote Dr. Baumeier. \u201cI declared him fit to fly under my\nsupervision and responsibility. It was mandatory that a person with medical\nexperience should assist during the flight. I also offered my voluntary escort.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nseafarer center had organized everything with the foster home, the care\nprovided, the administration, flight booking, and media \u201cin a perfect manner,\u201d\naccording to Dr. Baumeier.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\nNovember 7, 2018, the 69-year-old seafarer boarded by wheelchair an Emirates\naircraft with two volunteers heading for his homeland. The team flew about 12\nhours to Clark Airport in the Philippines, where family members greeted their\nailing father and spouse in the cover of night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nfrail seafarer was transported to AUF Medical Center in Angeles City,\nPhilippines where his family began assuming his care. After his status was stable\nand confirmed, his wife and children were updated and briefed by Dr. Baumeier.\nFidel spent an overnight in the hospital. The following day, his doctor revisited\nhim and Fidel was released to the home care of his deeply grateful family. The\nHamburg Seaman\u2019s mission paid the bill.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\ncauses us to care about people outside our family or even our country? People\nwho are not members of our organization or on our family or patient-care\nlist?  Under the invisible orchestration\nof a loving God, outreach which appears random often finds roots in personal histories.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr.\nBaumeier was himself a former seaman. Early in his life he worked as an\nelectrician on ships, often with a Filipino crew. He found them a kind people and\neasy to develop relationships with. The doctor developed such connections that\nduring 1982, he backpacked for 3 months throughout the Philippine islands\nvisiting seafarers he knew and their families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor\nme, it was mandatory to escort Fidel home as a volunteer,\u201d Dr. Baumeier wrote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks\nto healthy human connections, staff and professionals provided a strong\nrecovery and safe journey home for one man who gave his life to the sea. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo: Fidel Labrador with Susanne Hergoss, Felix Tolle, and Dr. Wolfgang Baumeier. Deutsches Seemannsheim Hamburg – Krayenkamp. by Susan Huppert, NAMMA Dotted around the globe are people drawn by compassion to care for those who work at sea. An interlocking of hands and hearts provides hope and encouragement to families of seafarers, spiritual nourishment to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":4199,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[36,254,96,100,255,256],"class_list":["post-2979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chaplaincy","tag-deutsche-seemannsmission","tag-hamburg","tag-philippines","tag-seafarer","tag-susanne-hergoss","tag-wolfgang-baumeier"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Flight Home - NAMMA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Experience the emotion in this story of one seafarer who was supported during a challenging situation. Read more from the MARE Report.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Flight Home - NAMMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Experience the emotion in this story of one seafarer who was supported during a challenging situation. Read more from the MARE Report.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NAMMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-12T15:22:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-01T12:25:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/NEW_the-flight-home-.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"822\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Susan Huppert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Susan Huppert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Susan Huppert\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/#\/schema\/person\/7ae2586980d55628db9af7ad6eef55cb\"},\"headline\":\"The Flight Home\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-12T15:22:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-01T12:25:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/\"},\"wordCount\":1015,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/NEW_the-flight-home-.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Deutsche Seemannsmission\",\"Hamburg\",\"philippines\",\"seafarer\",\"Susanne Hergoss\",\"Wolfgang Baumeier\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Chaplaincy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/\",\"name\":\"The Flight Home - NAMMA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/NEW_the-flight-home-.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-12T15:22:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-01T12:25:39+00:00\",\"description\":\"Experience the emotion in this story of one seafarer who was supported during a challenging situation. Read more from the MARE Report.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/NEW_the-flight-home-.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/NEW_the-flight-home-.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":822},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Flight Home\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/\",\"name\":\"NAMMA\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"NAMMA\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/logo.svg\",\"width\":284,\"height\":79,\"caption\":\"NAMMA\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/#\/schema\/person\/7ae2586980d55628db9af7ad6eef55cb\",\"name\":\"Susan Huppert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/519d9134513414b161c5e284d6af5a17fcabef4038644a972f7a65b780602af1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/519d9134513414b161c5e284d6af5a17fcabef4038644a972f7a65b780602af1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Susan Huppert\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/namma.org\/author\/susan-huppert\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Flight Home - NAMMA","description":"Experience the emotion in this story of one seafarer who was supported during a challenging situation. Read more from the MARE Report.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Flight Home - NAMMA","og_description":"Experience the emotion in this story of one seafarer who was supported during a challenging situation. Read more from the MARE Report.","og_url":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/","og_site_name":"NAMMA","article_published_time":"2019-12-12T15:22:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-01T12:25:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":822,"url":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/NEW_the-flight-home-.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Susan Huppert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Susan Huppert","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/"},"author":{"name":"Susan Huppert","@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/#\/schema\/person\/7ae2586980d55628db9af7ad6eef55cb"},"headline":"The Flight Home","datePublished":"2019-12-12T15:22:47+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-01T12:25:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/"},"wordCount":1015,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/NEW_the-flight-home-.jpg","keywords":["Deutsche Seemannsmission","Hamburg","philippines","seafarer","Susanne Hergoss","Wolfgang Baumeier"],"articleSection":["Chaplaincy"],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/","url":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/","name":"The Flight Home - NAMMA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/NEW_the-flight-home-.jpg","datePublished":"2019-12-12T15:22:47+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-01T12:25:39+00:00","description":"Experience the emotion in this story of one seafarer who was supported during a challenging situation. Read more from the MARE Report.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/NEW_the-flight-home-.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/NEW_the-flight-home-.jpg","width":2560,"height":822},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/the-flight-home\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/namma.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Flight Home"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/namma.org\/","name":"NAMMA","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/namma.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/#organization","name":"NAMMA","url":"https:\/\/namma.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/logo.svg","width":284,"height":79,"caption":"NAMMA"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/#\/schema\/person\/7ae2586980d55628db9af7ad6eef55cb","name":"Susan Huppert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/namma.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/519d9134513414b161c5e284d6af5a17fcabef4038644a972f7a65b780602af1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/519d9134513414b161c5e284d6af5a17fcabef4038644a972f7a65b780602af1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Susan Huppert"},"url":"https:\/\/namma.org\/author\/susan-huppert\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2979"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4200,"href":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2979\/revisions\/4200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/namma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}