This is what happened today during my flight. (Note the foreshadowing events and my totally jinxing thoughts leading up to it. When flying with other crews, if I had mentioned that I had never had an emergency before, they'd quickly tell me to shut my mouth, since I would cause one to happen. Now I, too, am going to be a little superstitious.)
Event 1: As I walked through the cabin, saw a woman about to change her baby's diapers on the seat, and mentioned to her that (woah, there!) we had changing tables in the bathroom for her to use (helpful/maternal/understanding smile).
What I was thinking: Ew. Baby gross. No poo on the seats.
Event 2: A woman came to the back galley and mentioned to me and the other fa how on her last flight was so cool and confident when faced with a medical emergency.
What I thought: Hmmm, no medical emergencies for me yet. I wonder when I will have one...
Event 3: A man came to the back galley, said that he had "taken some morphine earlier" and needed some oxygen. It was sketchy, but we're not doctors so we gave him some.
What I thought: Wow, I'm officially using medical equipment for the first time. But it doesn't feel like a REAL medical emergency.
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Suddenly, a woman ran into the galley, panicking, "THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY HUSBAND. HE NEEDS A DOCTOR!"
While one FA rushed to the man's side, I frantically flipped though my announcement book to make the "is-there-a-doctor-on-board" announcement (calmly, of course). But I didn't need to. There was a heart surgeon in 14C, the seat RIGHT BEHIND the sick man.
As soon as the doctor saw the man's face in 13C, he said that we needed to land immediately. Much to the dismay of his onlooking wife and young (4-6ish y/o) children, he was sitting lifelessly in his seat with his eyes rolled back into his head. He was foaming at the mouth and making a low gurgling noise. He did not look good.
As the wife cried, and the doctor's wife tried to comfort and distract the kids, I took out another oxygen bottle, and another FA handed the Emergency Medical Kit to the doctor. Other people in the seat were relocated so we could lay the man down across the three seats. It was discovered that the man had also lost control of his bowels, so people were open to moving elsewhere.
After he was allowed to lie flat and oxygen was administered, the man began to come around. I was able to get details from the man's wife and fill out a report to give to the captain, who would call medical on the ground and determine where we needed to divert the plane. The man started looking better. It appeared that he'd had a severe seizure, but it looked like he would be okay now. One of the saddest moments I saw was when he was lucid enough to realize and be mortified by the fact that he had messed himself.
We were coming up on Denver, where we would have had to divert to, but the man was getting better. Monitoring his vital signs, on the advice of the doctor on board and the doctors on the ground, we decided we could make it to our destination, which was 2 hours away. If anything changed in his condition--if he began to feel pain, or have slurred speech we would take the plane down immediately. I forgot to mention that while the doctor was monitoring him, he was standing in the aisle, so we had the front half of the plane using the first class bathroom. And we had a very famous celebrity on the flight. People were coming back to their seats and not knowing whether to hypothesize about the medical situation or talk about the actor. People were generally curious, but very calm. I handed out airsick bags filled with coffee grounds for people to smell, since the plane reeked like a giant diaper. I was actually taking breaks in the lavatories to get some fresh air.
So, when I say I saved a guy's life yesterday, it was definitely a team effort. And I hope I'm not jinxing it (as I feel I kind of did on yesterdays flight) when I say that I am glad that I didn't have to use the defibrillator--but I would know what to do if I did have to use it. The way I helped save this guy's life was mostly by just juggling oxygen bottles, assisting the doctor, comforting the wife and other passengers (the kids were too fine. It was as if they were just in denial or trying not to admit to themselves that something terrible was happening. poor little guys) and communicating with the captain in case we needed to divert. It was definitely a team effort. Many guests commended us on our composure and efficiency in dealing with the situation. When we landed, the EMTs came on and took him away. He was totally stable, mostly just embarrassed. His wife was smiling and thanking us. The airline will send the doctor a special thank you and an offering of free flight(s) or some other compensation.
And now a video I stole from the fb page of the Suval-Fletchers:
XXOO
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