I’m a flight attendant; we are so grateful for any properly trained medical assistance we can get. It’s my airline’s policy to thank these people with something because we ARE so grateful. We have the ability to send “miles” or “credits” to accounts if we can get your info while on board. It’s not able to be redeemed for true “cash” so I suppose that’s where the loophole is. Please do not feel guilty about the miles; know that this is our true way of saying thank you as your expertise was used and you stepped up with your knowledge and service. Thank you for volunteering! ✈️
Thank you Lisa. I appreciate you letting me know that receiving miles back is common practice. That makes me feel better. I also want to thank you for what you do. I'm sure many people don't understand that flight attendants are there for passenger safety, not to be glorified wait staff! On top of that, it must be stressful to have to try to deal with medical emergencies yourself, if no one steps forward. Anyway, I appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment! Best wishes to you!
Michele, I LOVE your channel! Great video! This happened to me too, once on a plane (and I did respond, whereas a surgeon sitting next to me never got out of his seat). Another time, I responded to a priest who passed out up at the alter in church. He had no pulse and was pure white, but color (and pulse) returned in about 30 seconds, so I did not start CPR. I visited him in the hospital afterwards and we joked that I was probably one of the few women who ever ripped clothes off a priest in a public place!
As a former medic I was on two flights within three weeks , where there was a need for medical personnel. I responded to both. Very nerve racking and I appreciate this video as I felt the exact same way as you did. Thank you
Currently sitting on a plane with a medical emergency and I am not a medical personnel. Luckily southwest has Wi-Fi and Luckily we had 2 doctors and an EMT on this flight. This video help put my anxiety at ease with what is going on. Truly amazing people to jump into action.
It once happened on a flight I was on. I was flying from Ibiza to Bristol and my stepmother's father (who is a retired doctor) was on the plane, and someone was ill. As it turned out, it was pretty serious, the guy had been partying all night (as you do in Ibiza, though we weren't there to party) and was drinking and doing E, and got into a fight which led to a broken rib and a punctured lung, which reared its head in the low pressure of the aeroplane cabin. Ultimately, we had to land in Bordeaux, but there was no announcement about why we were landing, so people who weren't in the loop about what was going on would have not really known what was happening, and the person had to be rushed off the plane and to a local hospital, I have no idea what happened beyond that because we then got back in the air and carried on to Bristol
I was flying recently with my son, who is a nationally certified paramedic. My experience over the years told me that cabin crews appreciate knowing if urgent care medical personnel may be aboard, so I quietly pointed my son out to the flight attendant. My son was supposed to sit in the seat across the aisle from mine, but there was a morbidly obese woman already using up most of that two-seat configuration. After I got seated, my son, who boarded after me, came down the aisle and said he'd gotten upgraded out of the blue and would be sitting forward.
Here are a few thoughts on why I don't think that any free miles, seat upgrades, etc. would attach liability. 1) it's a token of gratitude. A token of gratitude by the airline (e.g., a free drink, a seat upgrade, airline miles) does not constitute payment. Your service to the patient was not conditioned on an expectation of some benefit. 2) the doctor is not an employee or contractor of the airline. 3) the *patient* is not paying the doctor (nor is the patient even able to offer a token of gratitude on the airline's behalf) 4) there is no business contract between doctor and patient, as there is with, say, insurance coverage. I think the fear is overblown and my guess is that there is little to no case law in the litigious U.S. that would suggest otherwise.
Excellent points and you’re probably right about the fear being over blown, but it’s probably a byproduct of horror stories, you hear about medical providers, being fed to the wolves in our overly litigious society. Thanks for watching. And thanks for taking the time to write such a great response!
I live in Australia and I'm a disability support. As a part of my job I have to hold a current first aid and CPR certificate. Under Australian law as I'm not a doctor I do not have to provide first aid. But once I start CPR I am legally obliged to continue CPR until I can physically no longer provide CPR or a medical professional takes over. If I started to have a panic attack or something to that would also be reason to stop CPR. In Australia you cannot be sued for providing CPR or first aid. Volvo if you commit gross negligence, in that case you may be able to be sued.
