Thursday, February 18, 2010

I'm no Flight Attendant or Dr....but I'm here too help

Wife and I grabbed seats in cattle class last night to visit family. Thankfully we got exit row seats for the flight.

About 2 hours in, I was resting with my Bose QC15s pumping in a Smart DJ playlist (I love my Zune HD!) into my ears when I overheard, "If there is a M.D or D.O on board please ring your flight attendant call button or come to row 22."

I opened my eyes to see two flight attendants briskly walking down the aisle carrying the emergency medical kit and oxygen bottle. Something had happened. A moment later the third flight attendant walked by with the defibrillator. Medical emergency.

I had changed out of my uniform into my "civies" prior to boarding the flight.

As two flight attendants and a Dr worked in the back of the plane, I noticed the front flight attendant had his hands full with First Class. As he walked to the back of the plane I took out my ID and let him know that if he needed any help I was glad to assist (I'm listed as a pilot/crew on the passenger manifest so he knew who I was). Being squeamish I can't help with the medical emergency, but I can help pick up trash and hand out drinks at the very least. I can also help with "crowd" control as passengers were trying to use the rear lavatory even though it was clear the area was packed. He said he was going to ask if I could help and appreciated my offer. Things were fine at the time, but he would let me know if he needed help.

I laid back and hoped for the best. There was still 90 minutes of flight left. If the seat belt sign came on or we started descending soon I knew it was because of the medical emergency.

Thankfully everything worked out fine. About 30 minutes prior to landing the lead flight attendant came back to my seat and dropped off half a dozen fresh baked cookies. He appreciated my offer to step up and help.

Once we landed medical personnel came on board and rolled the passenger off. They ended up signing a waiver to not be transported after all.

Even though it wasn't my airline (it was a mainline flight) I'm always here to help another crew if needed.

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