On my flight to Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific ocean the in flight movie “Man of
Steel” was over and I was bantering the flight
attendants about having “wayyy too much
fun while working” as I returned from the lavatory. I took my aisle seat 2 rows behind mid cabin. A few minutes later a lady staggers pass me
and hits my shoulder, I really didn't give it a second though.
About 10 minutes later there was a thud coming from within
the lavatory. The flight attendants helped
the same woman from there to the jump seat.
They were murmuring to find her husband.
A few minutes later the PA asks if there are any available doctors,
nurses or EMT’s on board.
Within a moments 2 doctors and nurse started working on the
woman. Who was once sitting up on one of
the flight attendant’s jumper seats was now lying in the mid station. As I and the other passengers watched the
drama unfold things were getting worse.
An IV was given to the women and within the next 10 minutes they were administering
CPR. After about 15 more minutes passed
a few others and I volunteered to help with chest compression considering the
flight had about 2 more hours. The next hour
seemed like a blur one doctor taking the lead counting manual compression, defib-ing and
watching vitals, the other continuously compressed the bag mask, the nurse deal with the IV and
the rest of us were taking turns with the compression.
After a blur of over 90 minutes the doctors both agreed to call it.
The rest of the flight was a somber one. The fight crew did their best to accommodate
the husband and 3 year old granddaughter who was unaware of the gravity of the
situation. Some cried with the husband
while others kept busy with the landing procedure, and dealt with other passengers. After we landed, the paramedics boarded, the
flight crew curtained up the middle area as the passengers left, we thanked
each other as I left the plane.
I was on auto-pilot as I headed to baggage claim. Deep in thought I walked right past my
dad. He grabbed me and I gave him a
great big hug, realizing the lady that we attempted to help was years younger
than him. After telling him the story of,
“How was your flight?” He just said, “When
your time comes it comes.” Spending over a week with my parents seemed
like overkill when scheduling the vacation.
But, I am now cherishing every moment with them and to celebrate
Thanksgiving as a family.