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Is there a doctor on the flight? Airmen save life on commercial airliner<\/strong><\/p>\n A group of Air Force reservists were credited with saving the life of a man suspected of having a heart attack on a commercial flight on 19 Sept.<\/p>\n The airmen were part of a reserve aeromedical evacuation crew from the 433rd Airlift Wing out of Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.<\/p>\n The team was traveling on a commercial airliner from Dallas, Texas, to support patient transport missions out of Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Roughly 45 minutes into the flight, a 74-year-old man sitting next to Staff Sgt. April Hinojos, an aeromedical evacuation technician, complained to his wife that he felt faint, according to an Air Force press release.<\/p>\n The elderly man\u2019s eyelids began to flutter, and he stopped responding to questions. That\u2019s when Hinojos helped move him to the floor and evaluated the man\u2019s condition.<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t have a pulse, so we immediately started [chest] compressions,\u201d Hinojos said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Around then, the pilot came over the intercom and asked if any medical personnel were on the plane.<\/p>\n \u201cI had just started the movie and through my headphones I hear someone screaming for help,\u201d said Maj. Carolyn Stateczny, an Air Force flight nurse.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The rest of the aeromedical crew was scattered throughout the plane and began working their way through the aisles to Hinojos and the man.<\/p>\n 1st Lt. Laura Maldonado, another flight nurse, gathered the plane\u2019s medical supplies for the airmen and Stateczny prepared an automated external defibrillator.<\/p>\n Capt. Justin Stein, the third flight nurse on the team, was unable to start the man on intravenous fluids because his blood vessels were constricted, possibly due to the suspected heart attack.<\/p>\n Tech. Sgts. Robert Kirk and Edgar Ramirez, both aeromedical evacuation technicians, worked on the man\u2019s airway and provided oxygen.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been a nurse for 16 years; in my expertise, I thought he was dead,\u201d Stateczny said in the release. \u201cHe was completely grayish, his lips were blue, and his eyes had rolled to the back of his head. He was not responding at all. He had no pulse.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The elderly man\u2019s wife, naturally distraught, was moved to the rear of the plane.<\/p>\n Stateczny then requested the pilots land the plane at the next airport available so the man could get the required medical attention.<\/p>\n After getting the automated external defibrillator pads on the man, Stateczny said, he moaned, developed a pulse and started to recover.<\/p>\n They continued with oxygen and kept trying to start an IV.<\/p>\n \u201cHe slowly started arousing,\u201d said Statezcny. \u201cIt took some time, and he could tell us his name. He started getting some color, and then asked \u2018What\u2019s going on?\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The man thought he had just passed out, according to the release.<\/p>\n The plane diverted to Little Rock, Arkansas, where emergency medical services were waiting to take over patient care.<\/p>\n Aeromedical evacuation squadron members serve in a variety of military occupations, including nurses, medical technicians and administrative specialists. The crews are typically tasked out to help with events like natural disasters, caring for war wounded or routine medical transportation by air.<\/p>\n The crews usually consist of five people \u2014 two nurses and three medical technicians \u2014 and they carry with them all the necessary equipment to turn any cargo aircraft into a flying ambulance.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Bravo Zulu, AeroMeds. Damn fine job, and the stricken gentleman was very lucky to have chosen this flight.<\/p>\n The article may be viewed Here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"