Peace of Mind
March 24, 2026
A Tennessee couple credits an AirMedCare Network flight with saving the husband’s life, years after first enrolling in the air ambulance membership program.
Floyd and Amber Hughes love their mountain home. The couple’s house sits on 500 acres of rolling green land in rural Tennessee, property owned by their extended family and passed down through generations of Floyd’s family.
“My maternal grandfather passed this land down to my mother and her siblings, and then my mother passed it on to me,” said Floyd with a hint of pride in his voice. “It’s far removed from the hustle and bustle of city life, and there’s a real sense of calm and peace here.”
That desire for peace, especially peace of mind, is what first led the Hughes to enroll in Global Medical Response’s (GMR) AirMedCare Network (AMCN) membership. Through AMCN’s alliance of affiliated helicopter and airplane ambulance providers, members who are flown by medical emergency teams to advanced healthcare facilities face no out-of-pocket costs when transported by an AirMedCare provider.”
“We’ve had the membership for years, ever since we moved here,” said Amber. “We figured it was something we might need someday, maybe if there was an accident or even a snake bite, because we live so far from the nearest hospital that an airlift would probably be necessary. But we never imagined we’d need it in a true life-or-death situation.”
That changed one day in July 2025, when the Hughes went to Etowah to help a family member remove a fallen tree.
“Floyd was cutting the tree for firewood when he began experiencing chest pain,” said Amber. “He was having a heart attack, and that’s when my uncle took Floyd’s truck, with Floyd inside, and drove them to the local ER. Doctors stabilized Floyd there and confirmed that he needed to be rushed to a higher level of care.”
That’s when Hughes’ AirMedCare Network membership came into play. Shortly after the call was made, a Med-Trans/UT LIFESTAR air medical team came to the rescue, administering pain medication and other critical treatment to Floyd and keeping him alive as they flew him to Park West Hospital in Knoxville.
“My daddy picked me up from the Etowah ER and drove me to Park West,” recalled Amber, who says she asked everyone she knew to pray for her husband. “The drive to Knoxville took a little over an hour by ground, time Floyd didn’t have. If it weren’t for the air medical team that treated and flew him to there, I don’t know if he would have made it.”
Floyd agrees.
“I don’t remember a lot, except that the crew really took care of me,” said Floyd. “They gave me pain medication, they comforted me, talked to me and they were in constant contact with Park West. In fact, once I arrived there, I went straight to the cath lab (cardiac catheterization laboratory), where I learned my “widow maker” artery was 100% blocked. The team at the hospital immediately acted and placed a stent.”
Today, Floyd is recovering well from that day a year ago. He has since had a triple bypass and is showing strong improvement. Doctors also say he sustained minimal damage to other parts of his body, which they believe is likely due to the fact that he arrived at the hospital when he did.
“I was told that the numbers associated with my kidney health were close to a failure point, and that if I hadn’t come to the hospital when I did, they wouldn’t have returned to normal as they did,” said Floyd. “The speed of arrival to the hospital by the air medical team made all the difference, not only between life and death but also in preventing long-term kidney issues.”
As for Amber, she’s simply relieved that the terrifying experience of nearly losing her husband is behind them. She’s also incredibly thankful they had the foresight to join AMCN when they did, something that meant her family didn’t have to shoulder the cost of the air medical care her husband needed that day.
“We never imagined we’d ever need a service like AMCN,” said Amber. “When the doctors told us they were flying Floyd to Knoxville, it was so scary. But at least I didn’t have to worry about how we were going to pay for it. We live on Social Security, and covering the cost of an air flight would have been financially devastating for us. Saying I’m thankful is an understatement. This membership truly is worth its weight in gold. The peace of mind it gives you, knowing you’re covered when the unexpected happens, is worth every penny.”
*AirMedCare Network's alliance of affiliated helicopter and airplane air ambulances can provide medical treatment and transport, dramatically reducing travel time to an emergency facility. AirMedCare Network members enjoy the added value of never having to worry about out-of-pocket expenses when transported by an AirMedCare provider. With over 320 locations in 38 states and over 3.4 million members, AMCN is the nation’s largest emergency air medical membership network. Membership terms and conditions apply for both AirMedCare Network and AirMed International memberships.
“My maternal grandfather passed this land down to my mother and her siblings, and then my mother passed it on to me,” said Floyd with a hint of pride in his voice. “It’s far removed from the hustle and bustle of city life, and there’s a real sense of calm and peace here.”
That desire for peace, especially peace of mind, is what first led the Hughes to enroll in Global Medical Response’s (GMR) AirMedCare Network (AMCN) membership. Through AMCN’s alliance of affiliated helicopter and airplane ambulance providers, members who are flown by medical emergency teams to advanced healthcare facilities face no out-of-pocket costs when transported by an AirMedCare provider.”
“We’ve had the membership for years, ever since we moved here,” said Amber. “We figured it was something we might need someday, maybe if there was an accident or even a snake bite, because we live so far from the nearest hospital that an airlift would probably be necessary. But we never imagined we’d need it in a true life-or-death situation.”
That changed one day in July 2025, when the Hughes went to Etowah to help a family member remove a fallen tree.
“Floyd was cutting the tree for firewood when he began experiencing chest pain,” said Amber. “He was having a heart attack, and that’s when my uncle took Floyd’s truck, with Floyd inside, and drove them to the local ER. Doctors stabilized Floyd there and confirmed that he needed to be rushed to a higher level of care.”
That’s when Hughes’ AirMedCare Network membership came into play. Shortly after the call was made, a Med-Trans/UT LIFESTAR air medical team came to the rescue, administering pain medication and other critical treatment to Floyd and keeping him alive as they flew him to Park West Hospital in Knoxville.
“My daddy picked me up from the Etowah ER and drove me to Park West,” recalled Amber, who says she asked everyone she knew to pray for her husband. “The drive to Knoxville took a little over an hour by ground, time Floyd didn’t have. If it weren’t for the air medical team that treated and flew him to there, I don’t know if he would have made it.”
Floyd agrees.
“I don’t remember a lot, except that the crew really took care of me,” said Floyd. “They gave me pain medication, they comforted me, talked to me and they were in constant contact with Park West. In fact, once I arrived there, I went straight to the cath lab (cardiac catheterization laboratory), where I learned my “widow maker” artery was 100% blocked. The team at the hospital immediately acted and placed a stent.”
Today, Floyd is recovering well from that day a year ago. He has since had a triple bypass and is showing strong improvement. Doctors also say he sustained minimal damage to other parts of his body, which they believe is likely due to the fact that he arrived at the hospital when he did.
“I was told that the numbers associated with my kidney health were close to a failure point, and that if I hadn’t come to the hospital when I did, they wouldn’t have returned to normal as they did,” said Floyd. “The speed of arrival to the hospital by the air medical team made all the difference, not only between life and death but also in preventing long-term kidney issues.”
As for Amber, she’s simply relieved that the terrifying experience of nearly losing her husband is behind them. She’s also incredibly thankful they had the foresight to join AMCN when they did, something that meant her family didn’t have to shoulder the cost of the air medical care her husband needed that day.
“We never imagined we’d ever need a service like AMCN,” said Amber. “When the doctors told us they were flying Floyd to Knoxville, it was so scary. But at least I didn’t have to worry about how we were going to pay for it. We live on Social Security, and covering the cost of an air flight would have been financially devastating for us. Saying I’m thankful is an understatement. This membership truly is worth its weight in gold. The peace of mind it gives you, knowing you’re covered when the unexpected happens, is worth every penny.”
*AirMedCare Network's alliance of affiliated helicopter and airplane air ambulances can provide medical treatment and transport, dramatically reducing travel time to an emergency facility. AirMedCare Network members enjoy the added value of never having to worry about out-of-pocket expenses when transported by an AirMedCare provider. With over 320 locations in 38 states and over 3.4 million members, AMCN is the nation’s largest emergency air medical membership network. Membership terms and conditions apply for both AirMedCare Network and AirMed International memberships.
