When airline crew mishandled woman's seizures mid-flight, a stranger stepped in to make things right
Some professionals might need emergency training as an essential part of their work more than others. Flight attendants could be one of them. So when a person noticed that a woman was having a seizure on the plane, they decided to call the crew for help. However, they were shocked by their handling of the situation. As they saw the passenger struggle, the person decided to take one quick action that perhaps saved the woman's life, per a Reddit post by u/Andywho42.
The person was traveling on a Korean Airlines flight when the incident happened. They were walking back to their seat when they saw a woman in a window seat, who had the 3-seat segment to herself. "As I walked by, I noticed she was having a tonic-clonic seizure. I raised my hand and called out in a loud, clear voice, 'I need help here.'" They added, "A stewardess about 50 feet back started casually walking over. I called to her, 'Please hurry, it's a medical emergency.'" The stewardess was still walking without any sense of urgency. But the moment she noticed the woman, her eyes widened in surprise. The attendant rushed to get other staff members for help. "Four of them crowded around the seat and I got crammed standing over the scene at the seat in front."
The staff laid the woman down on her back while she was foaming at her mouth. The passenger had realized that it wasn't the right thing to do. "So there I was, feeling pretty unable to step in and correct them (I mean, it's their job to know what to do, not mine) as they are literally killing this woman." The person got outside and ran to the front of the plane. They located another stewardess and prompted her to page a doctor on the plane. "She looked at me like I had two heads. 'Page for a doctor on the flight, now!' I all but yelled at her." The stewardess paged for a doctor and an MD and neurosurgeon was present on the flight. The doctor was able to save the woman from choking.
"Of course, I didn't know this because after they paged for a doctor, I went back to my seat." The ambulance was waiting for the woman as the flight deboarded. "I tapped the MD on the shoulder as we were gathering our bags to ask if she was alive and he told me they managed to stabilize her airway and he thanked me for saving her life." The passenger went on, "This seems to have been a failure of the airline staff at literally every point except they did call ahead for an ambulance on the tarmac, even if they didn't prioritize getting her off the plane first." The MD was really confused by the turn of events as well, per the person.
People appreciated the passenger for their efforts in the comments section of the post. u/AdmirableRespect9 wrote, "A woman who worked at my school died from this kind of siezure. Thank you for being bold and maintaining the urgency." u/oliveoilcrisis commented, "That doctor was right, you saved her life. Thank you for looking out for your fellow humans. You’re a good person." u/whole_latte_love remarked, "As someone with epilepsy, having a seizure on an airplane alone is my worst fear. Thank you for saving her life!"