Have you ever experienced or witnessed a medical emergency while on a flight?
It rarely happens, but when it does, having a doctor on board among the patients can be lifesaving.
YB Dr Haji Annuar Rapaee, the Sarawak Deputy Minister of Education & Innovation, took to his Facebook page to showcase how he managed to use his knowledge and skills as a cardiologist to assist a person who was in need of medical help on his flight from Kuching to KLIA.
He wrote, “The events that happened during the KCH to KUL flight, MH2521 on September 6 (Wednesday). There was an announcement. The stewardess asked, ‘Can any medical personnel or doctors on board please identify yourselves? We need urgent medical attention’.”
“I responded, ‘I am Dr Annuar, is there anything I can help with?’.”
The stewardess then asked if he was a medical doctor or a doctor with a PhD, to which he responded that he was a medical doctor.
She also asked if he had an ID card to confirm his credibility, to which he showed her his credit card with his name stated as ‘Dr Annuar Rapaee’.
The stewardess then shared that there was someone who was having difficulty breathing and it turned out that the patient was a woman who had asthma.
“She needs an inhaler or nebuliser. Luckily, there was a passenger with an inhaler. After many puffs, the patient was still experiencing shortness of breath but thank God the MAB emergency kit was complete with a nebuliser. Thank you very much, MAB!”
“After (using) the nebuliser, the patient no longer had shortness of breath and felt relieved. After that, I had to make 4 copies of a medical report! Thank goodness she arrived safely at KLIA.”
Luckily he was on the plane to assist with the medical emergency!
What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.