Kendall Fire Department EMT Jim Barrett says a recent experience he had on an international airline flight attests to the skills of all emergency responders, even those from small fire departments and ambulance corps like his own.
Barrett helped save the life of a flight attendant on a flight from Washington, D.C. to Dubai by advising the pilot to land four-and-a-half hours from the plane’s destination so the woman could receive vital medical attention.
Barrett was traveling in early May on business and says one of the flight attendants was suffering from abdominal distress from the very beginning of the 14-hour flight.
“She thought she was fine,” Barrett says, “but she got worse as the flight progressed … she got sick and started throwing-up.”
Barrett had told the flight’s purser that he was an EMT when he boarded the plane – something he says he typically does when he is on long flights.
During the flight, the purser came to him for assistance when the flight attendant got to the point of being in so much pain that she was curled up in a ball in the galley. Barrett was able to assist her to a seat where she could recline, allowing him to quickly assess the situation.
“I usually carry some of my (EMT) stuff with me,” he says. “It took me ten minutes to see it was appendicitis.”
At that point, the purser paged to see if there was an MD on board to help confirm the diagnosis; there ended up being three. Barrett’s diagnosis was confirmed and the plane’s captain contacted medical command on the ground for guidance.
With four-and-a-half hours left on the flight, medical command advised that the woman be given two Tylenol® and an injection to ease the nausea and that the plane should continue to its final destination. Those steps were taken, but Barrett says he could tell the situation was becoming urgent.
He spoke to the captain again. “I told him she’s not going to make it to Dubai … she might still be alive when we land, but infection will have spread and she won’t live long.”
At Barrett’s urging, the captain made the decision to land the plane in Ankara, Turkey, where paramedics met the plane. The flight attendant was taken to a nearby hospital where she underwent surgery. Barrett says he made sure a member of the cabin crew traveled with her.
The 250 passengers on the flight ended up spending the night in Ankara and flew out the next day. By that time, Barrett says his fellow passengers realized that it was his decision that led to the unexpected landing and delay.
“I was waiting for a lynch mob,” he says, “but most people were good about it. Most people understood.”
Back at the airport the next day, Barrett saw the flight crew – including the captain – who was, “grinning from ear to ear.” The captain had been told that if the flight attendant had not made it into surgery when she did, her appendix would have burst in another 5 to 10 minutes.
Barrett says he felt good that, “all the decisions I made were the right things. The captain told me, ‘I’m so glad I listened to you and overruled medical command.’ ”
As the flight headed for Dubai, Barrett says he had an hour’s worth of airline reports/paperwork to fill out regarding the incident. He says it is not unusual for him to help out passengers on long flights who typically are dealing with respiratory issues, nausea, or malaise, but this incident was, “the most serious,” he has ever encountered while flying.
The flight attendant is back at home and doing well. “I plan to send her a card,” Barrett said.
