Earlier this week I responded to an airport medical emergency🆘.
I was at the airport waiting at my gate to catch a connecting flight. I had my headphones on🎧 blissfully unaware of the outside world when I noticed a man who looked to be dressed as if he was the pilot speaking with the gate attendant and pointing at something👨🏻✈️. For whatever reason I thought he had maybe lost his phone or something, so I paid it no attention. As the time for my flight to board came and passed, I became more attentive and noticed that the pilot was now calling someone...on his cell phone📱.
I took a few steps to an open space where my view was now unobstructed and noticed that someone was on the floor with multiple members from the flight crew surrounding them.
I rushed over to help.
On the floor was a middle-aged woman who, according to bystanders, had been pacing around in circles when she seemingly passed out😵💫. I began speaking to the woman to see if she would reply or open her eyes, but she wasn't responding. Fortunately, she did appear to be breathing on her own and did have pulses in her extremities, so there was no concern for an emergent airway problem or cardiac arrest.
I continued to evaluate the woman and gather more information and resources. I had one of the flight attendants grab the medic kit from the plane, another flight attendant check her bag to see if she had any medications or medical alerts💊 and made sure someone was calling 911 (the pilot had).
Meanwhile, the woman was able to open her eyes for a moment but still wasn't speaking or responding to me. I assessed her vital signs which were within normal limits and obtained a point of care glucose🩸. As I was considering administering medication (one concern based on my evaluation was potential seizure activity) the paramedics finally arrived🚑. I provided handoff to the EMS crew, thanked the flight attendants for their efforts, and that was that.
A medical emergency anywhere outside of a hospital will always be under less-than-ideal circumstances🚨. That being said, I'm glad the flight team was so diligent in responding and that I was able to help out as well. As an aside, this is the second medical emergency I've responded to at this location, so needless to say I am not a fan of this airport😒. The irony is that I'm writing this as I'm flying back through the same airport, quietly hoping no excitement awaits me...!🛫