Modified Flight Plan

by Lisa Kovanda, Brian Thomas

Most sixteen year-old kids joyride in Daddy's pickup. Not Brian Thomas. Instead, you find him out buzzing the football team in Daddy's airplane. Flying is his life—it's in his blood. Both of his parents are pilots. His older brother is in the Air Force. And he can't imagine himself as anything but an aviator. That is, until the bleeding disorder he's battled since he was two years old sidelines him. After several failed chemotherapy treatments, Brian opts for a potentially disease-curing, but risky spleen removal. After more chemotherapy, he regains his flight status, but now he's left with an altered immune system.

In April of 2009, Brian leaves his job at Duncan Aviation, where he is an aviation mechanic, to go home with what he thinks is the flu. Four hours later, he is comatose and on life-support. His hands, feet, and face develop gangrene. Ten days later when he wakes up, he must face the prospect of becoming a quadruple amputee. Surgeons save his left hand, but he faces a long road to recovery, and regaining his life.

279 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 15, 2013

Reviews

[Jac (For Love and Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply amazing!!! Full review coming soon, but this book is inspiring and you definitely should give it a read!



EDITED TO ADD REVIEW:

Several years ago I met Lisa Kovanda at a NaNoWriMo event in Lincoln Nebraska. I have since been back in Colorado, but kept in touch with her via Facebook, so I was fortunate enough to follow along with her progress of Modified Flight Plan. I purchased the book as soon as it released, but for some reason kept putting off reading it. (And now? I'm not sure why, because this book was fantastic!) Every so often I would make a post on facebook about my daughter (born without a left hand) and Lisa would mention Brian and the amazing things he has accomplished.

When I finally sat down to read Modified Flight Plan, I was immediately sucked in! Brian's passion for flying was refreshing, but immediately we were thrown into the reality of his ITP (Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura) - a blood disease that is described as similar to hemophilia (although quite different once you look into the disease itself.) A life of ups and downs, one moment he is flying high (literally) and the next stuck in the hospital to get another episode under control.

I adored every page of this book. I struggle sometimes to separate the actual book from the excitement of the familiarity. (Much of the book takes place in my hometown - Lincoln Nebraska. Brian went to the same college as my cousin in Watertown, SD. My daughter has to overcome struggles to do daily things, but also to pursue her passions, like hockey - although 'just missing one hand' is nowhere near the comparisons to what Brian had to face! Etc, etc, etc.) But when it comes down to it? This is an excellent book.

Lisa Kovanda is an excellent storyteller, her writing is strong and sucks you in immediately. Often times I find non-fiction to be full of little facts you don't really need - but this isn't the case at all. If I had one complaint, and it's a minor one, it's that Brian's story post-amputation moved so quickly. But I'm one of those people who never wants her books to end, so I would be happy to just read forever!

[Christel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is written in a lower level of complexity so that it is easy to follow for various language and age levels, but it's not boring. That will allow the book to reach its widest audience. It is a very straightforward telling of a young man's life long issues with a blood disorder which led to him having multiple amputations after many near death experiences. What kept him going was his love of flying, and that passion may have saved his life and sanity. That's not to say he didn't have dark nights of the soul, and he and his co-author don't paint him as a saintly heroic figure. His break up with Amy who stood with him through a lot wasn't well-handled, and he was pretty honest about it. His parents and Amy pushed him into a corner which he resented, and when he finally took charge, things got better though Amy was hurt. The heavy stuff was put in extra sections in the back of the book, and that's where deeper medical info is given and how you and others can help via blood banks. There is about the author sections on both writers, and Brian's section tells of the day-to-day physical and financial struggles of his post-amputation life. His is a cautionary tale of preparing before the day comes, because as we age, more of us will face disability issues, and many of us don't get what that entails. Even with flying, he thankfully had his family without whom he probably never could have made it.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to review this.

[David Kubicek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Modified Flight Plan is riveting and inspirational, a real page-turner--or page-clicker, if you read the Kindle addition. This story is a study in the resilience of the human spirit.Brian Thomas nearly died and emerged from his ordeal as a triple amputee. It would have been easy to give up. But through perseverance he fought his way back to do the one thing he enjoyed most: fly an airplane. I highly recommend this book.

[Ngdecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a true account of a young man who went through agonizing physical problems. I couldn't stop reading it - even woke up and read some in the middle of the night - and finished it in a day.

[Lisa Pelto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook for the second time as I was driving across Nebraska. I enjoyed the story very much and caught a lot that I missed the first time. I love Kovanda's writing. The drive and determination of this man is an inspiration.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an important story, but the writing style seemed aimed to junior high readers.