Steve Melvin still vividly recalls those terrible days when his young son Jake was battling cancer.

The heavy, inescapable weight of this disease hung over Steve, Jake and their family as they did their best to power through. 

“It was such a kick in the gut,” Melvin tells The Ticker. “Here you have this otherwise healthy 13-year-old kid, and all of the sudden everything is on hold until you beat cancer. You can’t think beyond the next scan, the next the next chemo treatment. It’s all-consuming.”

There’s a lot of tough things about fighting cancer, but one of the worst parts is the travel. So many tests. So many doctor’s appointments. And for many in northern Michigan, that means multiple long, draining road trips downstate for specialized care.

Jake and Steve did plenty of those trips. They weren’t fun.

“Here I am pulling over to the side of the road, and he’s puking, and I’m thinking ‘Man, if we beat this s--t, I’m giving back,’” Melvin says.

Melvin, of Traverse City, now gives back in spades as a pilot for Wings of Mercy, a Zeeland-based nonprofit that organizes flights for families who need non-emergency medical care.

He’s flown over 100 flights for the organization, logging 10,000 miles last year alone. He does this in his own plane in his own time on a volunteer basis, with the organization covering the cost of fuel.

What this means for Traverse City-area patients is that a visit to Ann Arbor or Detroit that once was a 10-hour round-trip drive with an overnight stay can now be a quick down-and-back.

“The gift that aviation gives is time. It turns four hours into one hour, and that's amazing. There are people that live in the UP that need to go to UofM. That is a nine or 10-hour drive, and I can get them there in an hour and a half,” he says. “And if it’s a two-hour appointment or something, I’ll just spend time hanging out and then whisk them back so they’re home in time to play euchre with their grandkids.”

Melvin grew up in an Air Force family and started flying at a young age, but really got back into it about 10 years ago after retiring from a medical equipment sales career. He feels both obligated and fortunate to help families via Wings of Mercy.

“I’ve been in their shoes, I know what it’s like to be battling cancer and needing all the help you can get,” he says. “You realize you don’t have all the time in the word, and I can give them time.”

One local family that benefits from Melvin’s assistance is that of Conor Rigan, a young boy who’s been battling cancer for years. He’s flown with Melvin three times (and several other times with other Wings of Mercy pilots).

The time saved by flying with Wings of Mercy is “such a huge gift” that impacts many people, Conor’s mother Sarah Rigan says.

“When I take Conor to his appointments in Ann Arbor, it’s at the very least a two-day trip if I’m driving. So I lose time with my family. My daughters get the bad end of that. If I have a job, I’m missing time there. And the travel in general is just so hard on Conor,” she tells The Ticker. “With Wings of Mercy and Steve, we can get down and back in less than a work day. We can leave at 8.30am and be back by 1 o’clock and I can be there to pick up my girls from school.” 

Though she’s deeply appreciative of all Wings of Mercy pilots, Rigan has a special bond with Melvin, who she says goes out of his way to make Conor comfortable and creates an environment that is “good for both caretakers and the patients.” Chatting with Melvin eases nerves and emotions as she and Conor prepare for appointments, she says.

“His specialty is to make sure every passenger has a donut from Potter’s to start the day. He tries to catch the sunrises so we can have a beautiful view. And we have conversations that are both lighthearted and very deep,” she says. “He’s is a wonderful person, a fellow cancer parent, and he just wants to give back in a way that he knows is meaningful for parents going through these hard times.”

Aside from his service in the sky, Melvin also organized the now annual TVC 5K Run The Runway at Cherry Capital Airport, which raises money for Wings of Mercy. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, May 17, the latest installment of what has become a popular race.

“It’s fast, and it’s on grooved pavement with extra traction,” Melvin says. “The track guys are showing up and just blasting. We’re getting sub-17-minute 5Ks, which is just this side of Olympic level.”

Grace Spelde, managing director for the organization, tells The Ticker the event and Melvin have done wonders in spreading the word about Wings of Mercy.  

“(The race) is much more than a fundraiser for us. The value in terms of awareness is huge,” she says. “We can trace a direct line from several new recipients we’ve been able to help back to the Traverse City 5K. And Steve has done so much to make other pilots in the area aware, so we get more pilots added to the roster.”

Pictured: Melvin with a family at the airport.