# American Airlines: In-Flight Medical Emergency Response



## Beaglemom3 (Jun 14, 2011)

There was a medical emergency on my return flight home from Paris on May30th. I brushed off my Adult Nurse Practitioner ( I remain current) skills and with 2 MDs and 1 RN (and an IV + NTG tabs), we managed to get back to Boston/Logan with a stabilized patient and no diverting. The cabin & cockpit crews were wonderful.


Found a big deposit of AA FF miles in my account PLUS a Companion Ticket a few minutes ago !!!! These guys work fast !

Email from AA:
_Dear Mrs. XXXX :  (that's me)
Thank you for the time you took to contact us, Mrs. XXXX. I truly appreciate the opportunity to respond to your comments and concerns. 
However, please let me begin by extending my personal appreciation for the kindness shown to another passenger who became ill during your travels to Boston. There is absolutely no question that your willingness to assist eased a difficult situation for all concerned on May 30. 
I am pleased to let you know that I have learned that our Corporate Medical Director has now received a report from the crew of flight 147 and will be contacting you within the next five to ten business days, extending "formal" appreciation on behalf of our company, as well as "gifting" you for your kindness. 
Additionally, we truly appreciate the benefit of your expertise concerning the medical supplies and equipment on our aircraft. I have taken the liberty of forwarding a copy of your email to our Medical Department for review. Thank you for this opportunity. 
We hope you will have another opportunity soon to travel with us. It would be a privilege to serve you on American. 
Should you wish to contact us again, please do so via http://www.aa.com/customerrelations, and we'll be back with you as soon as possible. _


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## Helene4 (Jun 14, 2011)

That's really nice. It's good to be appreciated. 

(Had it been Delta they probably would have charged you for the medical suppliies you used!)


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## Beaglemom3 (Jun 14, 2011)

Helene4 said:


> That's really nice. It's good to be appreciated.
> 
> (Had it been Delta they probably would have charged you for the medical suppliies you used!)




Helene,
  You know, the same thought about Delta crossed my mind, too ! 

  AA was very generous. I did not expect anything as I believe we are put on this earth to help each other, but getting FF miles for lending a hand is appreciated. This happened to me on America West from Phx - Boston and not even a thank you card. What a scary one that was - me, a psychiatrist, a veteranarian (the best !) and a pathologist. The patient  made it !


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## scrapngen (Jun 14, 2011)

It's nice to hear that AA appreciated your help and showed it. 
Thanks for sharing - I always like to hear about the good things companies do! 
And Kudos to you for being able and willing to help out your fellow passenger.


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## Ridewithme38 (Jun 14, 2011)

scrapngen said:


> Kudos to you for being able and willing to help out your fellow passenger.



+1,000!


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## vacationdoc (Jun 14, 2011)

*Good work*

Hope you are on my flight when I need help.


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## geoand (Jun 14, 2011)

Way to go Beags!!!!!!


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## Beaglemom3 (Jun 14, 2011)

We had a good team.

An oncologist from Dana Farber, a pediatrician from Beth Israel NYC and a Boston RN ( and me, an NP-attorney with 30+ years of nursing experience and most at the former "St. Elsewhere's" / BCH).

If you read the AA letter, I did suggest that they get a better B/P cuff as theirs was very odd. Also, a glucometer would've been nice.

Fortunately, a passenger had both with him.

Oh, forgot to say that the Sky Marshall was very, very good. He monitored
the whole event while watching the entire length of the aircraft, as explained to me later, that things of this nature can be a terrorist diversion.


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## MichaelColey (Jun 14, 2011)

Kudos to you and the others for giving a helping hand when needed, and for AA for rewarding you.  I hope they also listen to your suggestion and improve the equipment.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jun 14, 2011)

Congratulations - and thanks to you for being a person to pitch in and help when needed!!!  Nice to see AA recognize you as well.

***************

In 1981 I was in a KLM plane at LAX, sitting at the gate waiting to push off, when an elderly man about five rows ahead of me had a heart failure.

To his great fortune, an international medical conference on thoracic surgery had just concluded in the Los Angeles, the plane happened to have on board about five of the leading international heart specialists!!

A couple of them to took over and got the guy stabilized.  The guy was also on some medication for his circulatory system; the unanimous feeling among them was that the guy's physician had screwed up and prescribed the wrong medication for his condition.

*****

It was also a bit of an eerie feeling.  My best friend in college - and whom I have remained close with over the years - had his father die (of a heart attach) in mid-air on a flight from LGA to LAX.


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## Nancy (Jun 14, 2011)

Glad that AA appreciated what you did and rewarded you for it.

Thanks again,

Nancy


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## Jaybee (Jun 14, 2011)

Thanks for sharing your experience.  What a wonderful story. I'm glad you were there to help, that the patient made it, and that AA did the right thing.  Ooh!  I love a happy ending!


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## JeffW (Jun 14, 2011)

Beaglemom3...Thank you for the time you took to contact us said:
			
		

> Did you contact them after the flight ("... I was one of the people assisting...."), or did they contact you out of the blue?
> 
> Jeff


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## Beaglemom3 (Jun 14, 2011)

JeffW said:


> Did you contact them after the flight ("... I was one of the people assisting...."), or did they contact you out of the blue?
> 
> Jeff



  After we assisted the patient from her seat back to the very last row of the aircraft (the crew cleared it for us by reseating the passengers there), we were able to render care in a more, but not complete, area.  

When it was  my turn to step out for one of the other responders to assess, I stepped into the aft galley. The F.A. asked me if I'd like a cold drink (yes, Coke, please, but could've used a large adult beverage ! Ha !) and then asked my name, credentials/title and FF member number if I knew if (I did). He wrote this down. He, the F.A., then told me that this is now routine and that AA would contact me. I kept notes on her vitals signs, IV rate, dosage, O2 flow & frequency of the sublingual NTG and noted on my notes that AA's B/P cuff was awful and that they should consider a glucometer if feasible. This was apparently relayed to them. So, no, I didn't contact them directly, but indirectly, through the emergency response notes that were forwarded to AA's Medical Dept.

   I made a mental quick check note about my malpractice insurance status (paid up to date) !


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## glypnirsgirl (Jun 14, 2011)

Wow - how remarkable all around - you and the other health care providers for stepping in, flight attendants for taking notes, and American for reacting appropriately appreciative. 

This did my heart good!

elaine


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## Beaglemom3 (Jun 14, 2011)

glypnirsgirl said:


> Wow - how remarkable all around - you and the other health care providers for stepping in, flight attendants for taking notes, and American for reacting appropriately appreciative.
> 
> This did my heart good!
> 
> elaine



Well, thank ye !

Notes are taken so that we could give this to the Paramedics/EMTs who met the aircraft. This is a standard practice of emergency care, communicating what was done prior to the hand-off of the patient to the next tier.

Note: We did not divert, but came in as a "priority landing". All passengers remained seated while the Paramedics & EMTs took her off the aircraft.

Fortunately for me, the docs had the final decision in whether to divert or not. Glad to turf that to them.


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## MULTIZ321 (Jun 14, 2011)

Beags,

Thanks for sharing a wonderful story with a great outcome.

Nice to see American reward your assistance,expertise and generosity.

Let us know if they notify you with a decision as to whether they'll upgrade
their medical onboard equipment.

Richard


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## susieq (Jun 14, 2011)

WTG Beags!!!  How good of you to step up when needed, and how nice that AA recognized you for it!!  And you're right, I believe we're put on this earth to help one another.   

Sue


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## mpizza (Jun 14, 2011)

What a wonderful outcome for all concerned, you stepped up to help, glad you were rewarded.

Maria


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## jerseygirl (Jun 14, 2011)

Wow Beags -- you never cease to amaze me.  How lucky for that patient that you and the others were there.


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## erm (Jun 15, 2011)

Kudos to all....you, the other volunteers, the FAs and AA.  How fortunate for the patient to have so many willing professionsals onboard!  I love the way AA responded to your willingness to help.  I also love the choice you made to help, knowing you were puttting yourself in jeopardy.  Great rtory with a great outcome!


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## Kay H (Jun 15, 2011)

I expected no less from you as you are a very giving person.  Glad AA rewarded you for service above and beyond.  It's nice to be appreciated especially in a life threatening situation.

This was your 2nd mid air assistance?  How scarey!  God must put you on the right flights. 

Too bad America West did not respect your assistance.  That speaks volumes.


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## taffy19 (Jun 15, 2011)

It must really feel good to have done a good deed and the outcome was favorable. I am glad that AA appreciated your help but you would have done it anyway as you didn't expect that they would reward you. Nice story and also that you gave them a suggestion to update their medical onboard equipment so it may help the next person.  

We had something similar happening on our last flight and a doctor was onboard and took care of the patient too.  There was a second person too and when the plane had landed, the paramedics came onboard with a stretcher and took her away immediately. We don't know what happened because they didn't tell us except that it was a medical emergency.


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## Beaglemom3 (Jun 15, 2011)

Since it was my second time at bat, I was a bit more "comfortable" (for lack of a better term). I was dozing when the announcement came over the PA, but woke up and fast !

 Getting the IV in was the most difficult skilled task to do because of the slight-moderate turbulence. It took two tries and that was a good thing as all I could find were 2 intracaths for insertion (note to AA - 4 would be better - they're small) I always carry alcohol prep pads (a nurse thing ?) in my bag, so I got word to my DF in the seat next to me that I needed more and he brought them to me. The emergency O2 tanks are very small and didn't last long. I went up, personally, forward to get the largest one from the FA. I think it belonged to the cockpit crew, but I am not sure.

  I think that as we see more traveling "Boomers" (I'm one), this may become a tiny bit more frequent ? Air emergencies, that is.  Even if you're not a medical person, learning CPR is beneficial for a number of scenarios.


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## Rose Pink (Jun 15, 2011)

How nice to wake up and read first thing this morning some good news. 
Thank you for being able to help, for being willing to help and for sharing this story with us.


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## x3 skier (Jun 15, 2011)

*Nice Job Beaglemom*

I had a similar experience back in the day on AA. As an EMT / Ski Patroller, we were flying from DEN to ORD when a passenger experienced what what appeared to be a heart attack. The call went over the PA for medical assistance and a Physician and I were the only two "volunteers". We got the patient stabilized with me handling the equipment, taking vitals, etc. and with a diversion into MCI, the patient left the aircraft in stable condition.

What was my major irritation was after leaving MCI, the jerk in the row in front of me complained about the diversion and demanded free booze for the "delay". He almost suffered a brain hematoma but I refrained from clouting him in the head with my shoe. 

Cheers


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## Hawaiibarb (Jun 21, 2011)

*Kudos!*

Way to go!  I'm a Nurse Practitioner, too, and I agree that this is likely to happen more often as our population ages.   I do believe that God is present through us......you must have a wonderful feeling of satisfaction for being able to help in this way!

Barb


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## Beaglemom3 (Jun 21, 2011)

Hawaiibarb said:


> Way to go!  I'm a Nurse Practitioner, too, and I agree that this is likely to happen more often as our population ages.   I do believe that God is present through us......you must have a wonderful feeling of satisfaction for being able to help in this way!
> 
> Barb



  NPs Rule ! Ha !

  Yes, it was a good feeling to stablize someone who was medically unstable (especially in that situation )and to transfer her to hospitalized care. She had that scared and fragile look about her. 

   I agree with you about the Presence being there and I did ask Him to guide my hands when trying to start that line (both tries) duirng the tubulence. I've never been a great IV starter as we had interns and an IV team to do that at Boston City Hospital, so I never fully mastered it like others. Divine guidance(literally) is always welcomed.


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## Kauai Kid (Jun 22, 2011)

I want to be a nurse like you someday very soon.

Makes me all the more determined to complete my nursing pre-requisites and apply to nursing school. Math this summer, Microbiology and Pharmacology this fall, Human physiology next spring and then I apply to the school of nursing.

Sterling, Austin Community College nursing student


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## IreneLF (Jun 24, 2011)

Quite the story Beags - I must have missed this first time around.
I would expect nothing less from YOU, and happy that AA was so forthcoming


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## bobbornstein (Jun 24, 2011)

Beaglemom3 said:


> I made a mental quick check note about my malpractice insurance status (paid up to date) !



Always curious about that kind of situation. Does the good samartitan law cover you since you were acting in a volunteer capacity? or since you are a  professional you always have to have insurance? As others have stated, thanks for coming to the aid of a fellow human being!


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jun 25, 2011)

bobbornstein said:


> Always curious about that kind of situation. Does the good samartitan law cover you since you were acting in a volunteer capacity? or since you are a  professional you always have to have insurance? As others have stated, thanks for coming to the aid of a fellow human being!


Generally, if you are a professional and a situation arises that is within you're area of expertise and you act, you are expected to perform to the standard of care and expertise provided by similar professionals working in that locale at that period in time.

IOW - you are held to a higher standard of care than the ordinary person.  How that plays out is that after an event such as an earthquake, a structural engineer who volunteers services is in an extremely difficult situation.  To be able to say whether or not a building is safe to enter requires a solid engineering assessment, which involves taking measurements and conducting structural and geotechnical analyses which are not feasible to complete in the real world.  

If you say "OK", and nothing happens of course there's no problem.  But if you say someone can go into a building and something happens you now have both a personal and professsional burden.  It's also possible that you might be held *criminally* liable for causing injury to another person due to your advice gone bad.

My insurance company takes what I consider to be a realistic stance, which is that as a professional morally I can't stand by and do nothing in an emergency where my skills might be applicable.  We are advised, however, to as expeditiously as possible negotiate waivers of liability, and to do so immediately after the engineering equivalent of medical triage is completed.  And that we need to be prepared to walk away from providing additional help if we are expected to both provide emergency response and carry the legal liabilities for providing services under less than ideal conditions.


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## Beaglemom3 (Jul 15, 2011)

Finally, the reward  !!  Off to London & Paris next year. I got a companion ticket certificate in the mail yesterday.

Late edit to explain: They had initially deposited my FF mileage back into my account and I was happy with that. Now, they've added more. Wasn't expecting this.

No comment on improving their emergency response bag in this letter. I would like to see that.

*July 15, 2011
Dear Mrs. XXXXX;


Please accept our company's formal "Thank You" for the assistance you 
provided aboard flight 147 which operated between Paris, France and 
Boston, Massachusetts. We are all grateful that you were on board and freely offered your medical expertise when it was needed most. Without a doubt, you greatly improved a difficult situation on May 30, 2011.

As a tangible expression of our appreciation for volunteering your time and experience, we have added XXX,000 miles to your AAdvantage® account. This mileage adjustment should appear in your account in a few days. You can view your account via http://www.aa.com/aadvantage. These miles can also be used to claim AAdvantage® awards. 

I realize your offer of assistance was not motivated by any potential reward. Nevertheless, Mrs. XXXXX, we wanted you to know how much your efforts were appreciated -- and that we look forward to serving you again soon. It will be our privilege to welcome you aboard American and American Eagle when your plans call for travel by air. 


Sincerely,

XXXX X XXXX, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Medical and
Occupational Health Services 

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## glypnirsgirl (Jul 15, 2011)

What a great recognition for your good acts!

elaine


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## x3 skier (Jul 15, 2011)

Nice response from AA. Enjoy the trip.

Cheers


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