05/21/2026
In June 2025, the Butler family experienced every parent’s worst nightmare.
Malcolm was just 10 days old and had been a healthy newborn with a normal checkup only days before. But early that morning, everything changed. He suddenly became weak, would not feed, and stopped breathing on the way to the hospital.
After arriving to an outside hospital, the emergency team immediately began lifesaving care, including CPR and intubation. Soon after, Michigan Medicine Survival Flight arrived.
“In our memory, it felt like they appeared out of nowhere,” the family shared. “The calm, compassion, and hope they brought in that moment is something we will never forget.”
Malcolm was flown to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, where he was later diagnosed with Type F infantile botulism, an extremely rare and life-threatening condition.
Throughout the following days, the Butler family says they felt supported not only by Survival Flight, but by the entire University of Michigan team. From the emergency department to the transport crew to the specialists caring for Malcolm at Mott, they experienced extraordinary skill, compassion, and humanity during the most difficult time of their lives.
A few days later, members of the Survival Flight team visited Malcolm in the hospital and brought him a teddy bear wearing a flight suit — a gesture the family says they will always remember.
Today, Malcolm is healthy, happy, and thriving as he approaches his first birthday.
“It’s hard to believe how close we came to losing him,” the family shared. “We get to watch him grow up because of all of you. We will never forget the care, compassion, and hope you gave our family.
