A Guyanese among the heroes on a memorable flight

Apr 23, 2017 News

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By Sharmain Grainger
There are many occasions when Guyanese make the news outside of our jurisdiction for something untoward. But there are the others who do so for reasons that are so refreshing that it is likely to forever be etched in our hearts and minds.

Topping the list in this regard of recent is Ms. Michelle London-Bend. Although London-Bend migrated to the United States in 2002 and has returned to Guyana on quite a few occasions, her most recent visit here can easily be classified as her most memorable.
You see the Emergency Room Technician for the past 10 years at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan had gotten a few days off from work and decided she would travel to Guyana to spend some deserving time with friends.
The long Easter Weekend was especially ideal for such a reunion.
An excited London-Bend boarded the plane of a popular airline and was ready for the flight that would first take her to Trinidad before heading to her vacation destination – the land of her birth.
However, the journey en route to Trinidad would in fact turn out to be a defining moment in London-Bend’s life.
She doesn’t quite remember how long into the flight it was, but she remembers very vividly, a flight attendant making an appeal, via the plane’s public address system, for the assistance of any health care personnel on board.
Although London-Bend is not qualified as a doctor or even a Registered Nurse, she has had considerable training in patient care, so without hesitation she responded to the call for help.
She was not alone. Two nurses believed to be Trinidadians also responded.
Like London-Bend they were shocked to see a female patient passed out in a seat aboard the capacity-filled plane.
In an invited comment, London-Bend said, “the patient looked blue and felt cold; when we checked for a pulse there was absolutely none and it was then we realised that this was serious.”
The unconscious woman appeared relatively young, perhaps in her late 20s or early 30s.
Prior to passing out, reports are that the woman exhibited no signs of being disoriented in way. In fact she was travelling alone and was managing very well, even handling her own luggage.
But something went wrong!
This publication was reliably informed that the health care workers after recognising the condition of the patient immediately enquired of a flight attendant if there was a medical or first aid kit on board. There was reportedly none.
Although the health care workers saw a desperate need to check the woman’s blood pressure and sugar levels they simply couldn’t, as they had no blood pressure apparatus or glucomoter at their disposal.
The only thing that was provided by the airline staffers on board was an oxygen tank.
Moreover, the health workers had to rely considerably on their ability to do chest compressions.
In fact they had to continue this, together with the administration of oxygen, for about 45 minutes before the woman started to exhibit signs of life. According to London-Bend, the compression efforts were supported by the administration of at first four litres of oxygen before a decision was made to up it to as much as 15 litres.
”She was lethargic, totally out of it. But then we started to get a pulse, it was very low, but we got a pulse,” London-Bend related.
She disclosed that a decision to elevate the patient’s legs about 15 minutes into the resuscitation efforts might have been particularly helpful too.
The three first responders were eventually assisted by a female doctor on board who did not respond initially because she was asleep.
The doctor was reportedly aroused from her slumber by the ongoing commotion to revive the passenger. “Everyone was frantic because they thought the woman was dead,” related another passenger who was aboard the very flight.
”It simply wasn’t this woman’s time to go [die],” said the passenger, who recalled seeing the woman regain consciousness and start to open her eyes.
Although the patient appeared unable to talk at first, she eventually did so and profusely thanked the health workers for their timely assistance.
All passengers aboard the flight were reportedly very cooperative and adhered to the instructions of the flight attendant who instructed that they all stay in their seats until the patient was escorted.
The woman was eventually whisked off of the plane in the company of the doctor, and paramedics who arrived in an ambulance.
It is London-Bend’s conviction that “If no medical staff was on board she would have died because when we stopped chest compressions, all of her vital signs were gone.”
There has been speculation that the woman might have fallen into a diabetic coma. This, however, has not been confirmed by any of the health workers.
However, since the incident, several passengers on board the flight have expressed concern about the unavailability of even a first aid kit on the plane and are hopeful that the incident would serve as a ‘wake-up call’ to have such measures in place.
Meanwhile, the airline in question has expressed immense gratitude to the health care workers for their prompt and priceless assistance and has even offered to refund the costs for the flight to each of them
London-Bend has already accepted that while she had made plans for an exciting time with friends here in Guyana, God had other plans for her, which entailed helping to save a life that could have easily been snuffed out.

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