In January of 2013, Annie Maynard suffered a stroke. She spent 28 days in the hospital learning to walk and talk again as part of the recovery process. That same year, in September, Annie began to complain of facial paralysis and thought she was having another stroke. This would be her third major medical episode in two years.
 
“I was back in the hospital because my face started drooping again and they thought okay it must be another stroke, but they did all the work up and confirmed it was not another stroke, but my platelets were so low,” said Annie.
 
While at Peterborough Regional Health Centre, doctors began administering tests and medications to Annie. The doctors found that Annie’s platelet count was dangerously low and suspected she was having another heart attack instead. This is when the request for transport with Ornge was made. This would be Annie’s second transport with Ornge. Annie was taken to Toronto Western, where she received plasma and finally a diagnosis.
 
“They kept giving me plasma, and it wasn’t doing anything. They said she’s had a heart attack, she’s had a stroke, and we have no idea what to do, so they sent me through Ornge again to Toronto Western,” said Annie. “They figured it out there that I had a very rare blood disorder.”
 
Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP) is a rare blood disorder that is found in one to 13 people per million. TTP causes small clots to build up throughout the body while simultaneously depleting the body of platelets. It is often triggered by infections, viruses, pregnancy and autoimmune conditions. For six months, Annie was sent to Toronto General for specialized treatment called Apheresis, where her blood was cycled through a machine to remove the harmful antibodies from her plasma and replace it with donor plasma.
 
“Nobody has TTP; it’s like three in one million people get TTP. Every day I had Apheresis done, so that’s where they take all the blood out of my body, and then they circulate it in with donor plasma. With TTP, it goes into remission; there’s no cure for it,” said Annie.
 
After her treatment, Annie was finally able to be sent home with new medication and an understanding of why she was having serious medical problems. For Annie it was finally an answer, but for her family, it was a cloud of what ifs and what happens now.
 
“The first time, the kids were fairly young, so they don’t really remember a lot, but this past time, my daughter is 17, so they remember more. Luckily, I have a great sense of humour because it would have drowned a lot of people, but I say, ‘I woke up on the right side of the dirt today’,” said Annie. “I have a great family and a great support system.”
 
For 12 years, Annie was in remission and returned to her normal life, running her daycare and being a loving wife and mother. It wasn’t until November 30, 2024, that Annie’s TTP flared, and she required another transport with Ornge.
 
Annie had caught pneumonia earlier in November, and knowing TTP can re-emerge after being sick, she went to the hospital. She notified staff about her condition but did not get her blood taken and tested. Later, on November 30, while at her husband’s work Christmas party, Annie lost consciousness and had a seizure.
 
“I caught pneumonia, I went to the hospital, I got antibiotics, and I told them I had TTP,” said Annie. “I had a really, really, bad seizure at my husband’s boss’ house, and luckily, his wife was a nurse. She said it was a seven-minute seizure, and I was unresponsive for 25 minutes,” said Annie.
 
Annie’s condition was dire, and during her transport, the Ornge paramedics administered a blood transfusion while in the air to St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. Upon arrival, her platelet count was sitting at 16. Clinical staff administered Rituximab to help Annie dispel the antibodies that had brought on her flare up. She was in the hospital for 19 days.
 
“Ornge brought me back to Toronto because I needed to have the Apheresis done again. They brought me to St. Michael's that time. The hospital got it under control with Rituximab,” said Annie.
 
Being airlifted three times is not something most people can say (Annie was also transported in 2011 to Toronto General Hospital due to cardiac arrest), but Annie and her family can say with confidence that she was provided with the highest level of care each time she flew with Ornge.
 
“I remember waking up in the helicopter, and they said, ‘you’re okay’, they would always be very reassuring. My sister was asking ‘okay what if something happens to her in the air? What if whatever?’ and they just kept saying they are very well qualified, and after this last transport, she realized that they are very well qualified to do what they do,” said Annie.
 
Although Annie does not remember two of the three transports, she says the crew’s reassurance and kindness to her and her family members made all the difference.
 
“The kindness. They kept a pretty straight face. No one ever got worked up, it was good that they kept me calm, and they kept my family calm because it was the worst for my family. They answered any of my family’s questions, and they knew the answers, if this happens, we’ll do this, if this happens, we’ll do that,” said Annie.
 
Today, Annie is once again in remission and is on a daily dose of Warfarin to help manage her TTP. She also has her blood drawn and tested every month to check her platelet levels to help keep her family at ease. Annie says she is thankful for the dedication of all the Ornge pilots, paramedics and Operations Control Centre staff who show up every day and do their jobs well.
 
“Life looks normal to me, every day is the same. I run my daycare, and if you see me on a normal day, you wouldn’t know anything or that anything has ever happened. I just look like a normal human,” said Annie. “To all the people who took me up there, thank you for coming to work that day. In Ontario, there’s not a lot of helicopters and what if they weren’t available to come? So just thank you for what you do.”
 
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