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Kerala doctor saves man’s life on Akasa Air flight from Kochi to Mumbai
The passenger’s oxygen level had dropped, and his blood pressure was high, but Dr Cyriac Abby Philips’s quick thinking helped stabilise him mid-air.
A doctor is being hailed as a hero after he saved a passenger’s life on Akasa Air flight from Kochi to Mumbai on January 14. The passenger’s oxygen level had dropped, and his blood pressure was high, but Dr Cyriac Abby Philips’s quick thinking helped stabilise him. Philips shared the incident on X, and many have lauded his efforts in responding to the medical emergency.
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“As a doctor, the first time I actually used a stethoscope after three and half years was on a mid-air flight, two days ago,” wrote Dr Philips, who uses the X handle @theliverdr.
He added, “On my flight from Kochi to Mumbai via @AkasaAir, the man sitting next to me became breathless. I found the air hostess trying to plug in the man’s nebuliser for emergency inhalational treatment and I helped her get the machine running. He spoke in broken sentences, but he was not getting better. He had an oximeter, which showed oxygen saturation was 36%,” he added.
The doctor then used a stethoscope to listen to the man’s lungs, but he couldn’t hear any sound from the left side as it was filled with water. The man then told the doctor that he undergoes dialysis three days a week. To learn more about his medical history, the doctor checked the man’s unlocked phone and found several prescriptions, primarily for high blood pressure.
“I checked his blood pressure and found it was 280/160 and he was in accelerated hypertension with drowning lungs. We had 1 hour to land for emergency medical services to attend to him. We had to keep him alive,” he further wrote.
Dr Philip shared that he did a double puncture on the man’s only accessible vein on the right side and lost further access. The other upper limb had a dialysis fistula made, and he could not use it. “So I gave him a frusemide injection into his buttock muscles ( a very long time since I gave an adult an intramuscular injection) after telling him it was going to pain, but I had no other options and also because it was so hard to find a vein as he was struggling and the flight was a bit turbulent.”
The man was rushed to the hospital after the flight landed. “I have no idea what happened next, but it felt like I was inside an ICU and had to make quick decisions.”
Dr Philips also informed the patient’s family about his condition. “The next day, his family messaged me to let me know that he was well. In the evening, after my podcast recording, the patient himself called me after he was shifted out of ICU post-emergency dialysis,” the doctor said.
Dr Philips also thanked Akasa Air flight attendants. “The female and male attendants on Akasa Air who helped me were so calm and composed that I was able to work with a clear mind as they followed instructions. They quickly changed and provided oxygen cylinders without haste that helped me get his saturation to above 90%.”
The doctor also shared two screenshots of his WhatsApp conversation with the man’s wife.
Take a look at the entire tweet here:
In response to Dr Philips’s post, Akasa Air wrote, “We are extremely grateful for your quick response and immediate assistance, which was instrumental in saving the life of a fellow passenger onboard our flight QP 1519. Our crew members Dhanya, Zargaam, Arnav, Kiritika in the cabin and Munish & Neha from the flight deck were privileged to have you as a crucial part of the team. Thank you once again for embodying the true spirit of care and compassion.”
The post, since being shared, has accumulated over 7.1 lakh views, and the numbers are still increasing. Many even took to the comments section of the post to share their thoughts.
Here’s how people reacted to the post:
“This is awesome,” posted an individual.
Another added, “Great work Dr Abby Philips. Amazing!”
“Felt so happy reading this update. Great work, Dr. Abby,” shared a third.
A fourth commented, “I had goosebumps reading this! You are a hero! Hats off!”
“Grateful for your presence and the airline staff’s prompt support... this is indeed incredible. Keep up the great work!” expressed a fifth.
