Man can’t walk, but he can fly

MARION - Mark Upah thought he was having lunch with his parents on Oct. 23.

His confusion, then, when he pulled up to the Marion Airport, is understandable.

Rachel Miller, Upah's caretaker from Right at Home - an in-home care-taking service for seniors and disabled adults - had arranged for Upah, a paraplegic, to fly.

On April 12, 2011, Upah was hit in the back by a rogue tree limb. He was airlifted via helicopter from his home in Belle Plaine to Iowa City.

At age 40, he could no longer walk.

'It was a freak accident,” said his father, Bob Upah. 'It's just one of those things ... you learn not to take life for granted.”

Upah told Miller he wished he had kept his eyes open when the helicopter flew him across the city. She wanted to give him another chance to see what he missed, so Miller arranged a flight with pilot Mike Butler to take the now 44-year-old Upah up once again.

As Upah wheeled his way to the tiny three-seater plane, his smile permanent, he said again and again, 'I just can't get over this.”

'It's something different from sitting inside staring at four walls,” said Upah, anxious to see the view from above.

After hoisting Upah from his wheelchair into the cockpit, Butler fitted Miller and Upah with headsets so the three could communicate once airborne. A few short minutes later, the engine revved. Upah waved to his parents and caretakers as the plane pulled out onto the runway, increased its speed and launched upward.

They flew from the Marion Airport to Iowa City and back. Butler took Upah to his home in Belle Plaine, his old workplace and across familiar highways. He showed him winding rivers that looked like tiny streams, train tracks that looked like toothpicks and people that looked like little specks.

His parents smiled and watched from below, humbled by the kindness of his caretakers and amazed by the generosity of the Marion Airport's employees.

Despite his lack of mobility, his son has always stayed positive, said Bob Upah.

'He's taken this better than I ever could,” he said. 'It would be easy to say ‘this is it' but he has a positive attitude and really believes he can beat this.

Most days, though, Upah spends his time at home with his parents. He used to love manicuring their 120-acre century farm, but now he can only watch as the corn and soybeans are harvested.

Flying was well outside his regular routine - an experience he will never forget, they said.

'He's on cloud nine right now,” said Bob Upah. 'Literally.”