Heartbeat: Michelle jumps into action at 30,000 feet
January 22, 2019
As Paediatric Nurse, Michelle Smith boarded a flight home from Hawaii following a holiday with her daughter, her thoughts turned towards her return to work at Sandwell Hospital in a few days’ time – little did she know she would be returning to action a lot sooner than she planned.
For just two hours into the flight, a call for anybody with medical training came over the plane speaker.
“My daughter nudged me,” explained Michelle.
“She said ‘you better go Mum’, so I made myself known to an air stewardess and explained that I was a paediatric nurse but I was happy to try and help if I could.
“She took me to the front of the plane where there was a lady who had become quite unwell very quickly and had started vomiting. She was lying down and I could see she was very pale.
“It quickly became apparent that she was a diabetic and the airport had taken her insulin off her at check in, so she didn’t have it to hand. She told me that her last blood sugar reading was 22 – which I knew immediately wasn’t good – a normal reading should be between four and seven and anything between 10 and 15 would require quick treatment.”
At that point, an A&E doctor had also come to the front of the plane and established that the lady was in diabetic ketoacidosis – which can be life-threatening if not treated quickly. The doctor was able to put in a cannula and give her some anti-sickness medication (both of which were in the plane’s medical bag) after which Michelle attached a bag of fluids.
“There were no drip stands or extension leads as you would normally have in a hospital,” said Michelle. “I had to just hold the bag up whilst it ran through – we couldn’t calculate a drip rate either – we just knew she needed them urgently.”
The pilot had organised an emergency landing in Toronto, so when the fluids were finished Michelle and the doctor made their way back to their seats for landing and the lady was then taken off the plane by medics.
Once they were back in the air, the cabin crew invited Michelle to spend the rest of the flight in first class and took some details from her. A few weeks later she received an e-mail from British Airways, thanking her for what she had done and giving her a free return flight to any European destination of her choice.
“I was shocked to receive the e-mail,” said Michelle.
“We really had to just think on our feet and do what we could with the limited equipment that we had available – I think anyone would have done what I did, but it was nice to receive the thanks and the free flight.”
When Michelle came back to work, she told her colleagues about her experience and Ward Manager, Avnash Nanra contacted Heartbeat to tell the story.
Avnash said: “I am really proud of Michelle for putting herself forward to help – treating a sick adult at 30,000 feet is a world away from treating children on Lyndon Ground but her actions really helped the lady – she is a credit to our organisation.”