CLARA:  One time I -- I was just telling this lady when she told me this girl was going to have a baby, and -- and I was thinking, I wonder if that's the one I saw when she was a little girl.  I went up to her village to pick up a lady that was pregnant and losing her water, we flew to Aniak, the plane taxied right up to the clinic. 

Just when I went in, the phone rang, I picked it up, right next door this little girl is choking.  And I put the phone down, I ran out the back door to the house, I picked up the little girl, flipped her over, and my hand on her stomach, slapped her on the back, the candy flew out, and I put her down and run back to the clinic.  And it sounded funny after but it wasn't then. 

KAREN:  No.  And so then did you deliver the baby or did she go on to Bethel? 

CLARA:  She went on to Bethel.  I called Bethel from Aniak and told them I had her there, and we're coming down.  So have them ready with the ambulance and somebody there that can take her, you know, to the hospital, and I'd come right back home. 

Checked on that little girl, yeah, she choked on a candy.  And I'm thinking if that -- somebody told me a few days ago that this girl is going to have a baby.  And I wonder -- I know the family.  I wonder if that was that little girl that was choking on candy. 

KAREN:  But when you were on those medevacs, did you ever have to do anything to the patients on the plane? 

CLARA:  Oh, yeah.  Yeah.  One time it was really rough and -- and this lady, turned out she had an ectopic pregnancy and was bleeding inside, and I just couldn't get an IV started, it was so, so rough flying.  But she made it to Bethel and in time for them to do what they needed to. 

And then another time I was taking one down, I had stayed up all night with him in the clinic.  He came down from the village.  The weather was bad.  Stayed up all night with him in the clinic.  I didn't know what was wrong with him.  Just on his belly was really a red circle.  I never did find out what that was. 

He got -- got him to Bethel and later that afternoon he died.
 
But he was, like, getting hysterical during the flight.  I had him laying down, he was getting up and reaching for the back door.  I had to -- nothing to -- you know, and they probably wouldn't have let me give him anything anyway to sedate him if -- because they need to know what's wrong with him, how alert he is and stuff.  Scary sometimes. 

KAREN:  Yeah.  I'm very impressed with how people like you did what you did. 

CLARA:  Well, I -- I just, you know, felt it in me that you don't even think of anything when things come up.  You start thinking about it afterwards. 

KAREN:  Yeah. 

CLARA:  Did I do what I needed to do?  Did I do the right thing when they pass away? 

KAREN:  Were you called out in the middle of the night?
 
CLARA:  Oh, yeah.  A lot of times.  Yeah.  Sick -- sick babies mostly. 
And after we have the clinic, it's very hard for the people at night to get up and bring their kids to the clinic because you've got to weigh them now and everything before reporting them.  And I just tell them, well, if we didn't have the clinic, you would have to bring them out and fly them out to wherever.
 
So -- because you always think cold, cold weather, getting cold make them worse.  A kid with a fever, take their clothes off and give them a cool bath, oh, God, they are going to get pneumonia or something, you know, but it's -- they don't.  They are already sick.