This occurred about 5 hours after leaving L.A airport heading home, on our recent trip to USA. There was an overhead announcement asking if there was a medical doctor on-board. I turned to Ash and asked if I should volunteer. She told me, “Of course you should!” I was a bit guarded because one of my bosses had told me how limited resources are on the plane. Anyway, I rang the bell and a steward came to me and asked me what sort of doctor I was. I told him, and he asked me to follow him. He told me that someone was having a seizure.
Ashleigh reckons that from that point, I took some time to put on my shoes. I think that she’s right because I do remember trying to remember the best way to treat seizures as it has been at least 5 years since I’ve done so! I then followed the steward up the stairs to Business Class. At that point, an Obstetrician/Gynaecologist joined us too.
As I was walking up the stairs I was thinking about my management plan if the patient was still fitting. Simple things first, of course! ABC’s - Airway, Breathing and Circulation. If he was still fitting, I’d need to administer a benzodiazepine, although I don’t know if the plane would have it.
When we reached the patient, he had already finished fitting and was confused. He was otherwise fine. A nurse was with him talking to him at that stage. I hung around for a little while giving advice as to how best he should be treated, ie., whether he can eat, whether he is allowed to go back to sleep. One of the staff then asked if we should take his blood pressure; I agreed. As he went off to get the sphygmomanometer (blood pressure machine) I realized that I hadn’t used one for 5 years! I usually read the blood pressure from the charts or used an automatic machine which gives you the blood pressure with the press of a button!!! However, after a little thought, I quickly remembered how to take a blood pressure using the manual machine! Anyway, I wasn’t needed for that task as the Obstetrician/Gynaecologist took the blood pressure! I hung around for a little while longer just making sure that the patient was OK.
Twenty minutes later, I returned to my seat and continued to watch the documentary about how the company Apple was saved by the iPod (very interesting documentary, by the way!). About an hour later, the steward presented a bottle of champagne to me, thanking me for my help! I was a little embarrassed about it as I didn’t do all that much (except for providing QUALITY and PROFESSIONAL advice)! Another few hours passed and the steward again returned with vouchers for use of the Qantas Club lounge! I was still embarrassed about it! We did use those vouchers at Sydney Airport which was very nice!
I had pretty much forgotten about the incident until two weeks ago when Mum rang me telling me that she had received a letter in the mail from Qantas. They thanked me for my “professional advice” and mentioned a few other flattering sentences! There was also a $200 voucher attached for use when buying airline tickets! Very flattering and embarrassing!
So from a small incident, I managed to score a bottle of champagne, Qantas Club vouchers and a $200 voucher!
Not bad for a humble Orthopaedic Registrar…
