Belinda writes:

It's been so wonderful to see the love and support for Yoko
Isomoto during her last weeks in the hospital, after a hang glider crash in
Florida resulted in a broken pelvis. She has really appreciated the messages and
visits that have helped her forget the pain while she recovers in a strange
country (her first visit to the U.S.). April Mackin and the hospital social
worker Candace Snyder have been working hard to find a way to get Yoko home
safely - but interaction between the hospital and the travel insurance company
has been difficult and frustrating.

Then Corinna Schwiegershausen wrote to me that she wanted to visit Yoko, asking
for her details. When I told Corinna that we were stumped about how to get Yoko
home, Corinna sprang into action. She first called Ecky the German team's
official doctor, then she called the insurance company in Denmark. A big part of
that problem was that Candace was not allowed to make international calls, and
given the time difference it was hard to get a meaningful response. Given Yoko's
condition and pain, she clearly needed to be accompanied during her whole
journey, by someone who knew how to care for her. Corinna managed to cut through
all that red tape and find a solution.

The arrangements were completed this morning. Corinna will be flying from Munich
to Orlando on Tuesday. On Wednesday she will pick up Yoko from the hospital,
take her to the airport, get her settled on a Lufthansa plane in a business
class bed, keep Yoko company on the flights to Osaka via Frankfurt (making sure
she gets Lufthansa's special attention and TLC), and make sure that Yoko gets to
her Japanese rehab facility in the Osaka area. Corinna can do this because she
is a Lufthansa flight attendant with plenty of seniority, and because she
otherwise wouldn't be flying that week (in other words, she's using her vacation
time).

Yoko is so happy that she will have the company of another female hang glider
pilot during this difficult journey. And right this minute Corinna looks a lot
like Wonder Woman to me :-).

We have a special flying community, where strong competitors are also strong and
generous supporters of one another. I'm so grateful to be a small part. Thanks
to all of Yoko's friends, and to all of you who help each other in times of
need.

We are still working on getting her settled in Japan and into the
orthopedic hospital in the town where she lives. The hospital claims that it is
full and can't take her. We are writing to people in Japan to help get this
worked out.