[This entry has been outfitted with relevant links for further clarifications. Pardon my technical vocab.]
"Calling for medical doctors, if there's any medical doctor on the aircraft please report yourself to the cabin crew. Thank you."
A couple of minutes passed.
"We are calling for medical doctors on the aircraft, please report yourselves to the cabin crew. Thank you".
My friends and I were scattered on the Ryanair plane thus didn't get to sit next to each other. Upon hearing the announcement we instantly looked at each other with a question mark on our faces wondering what was on about with the calls. All shrugged the shoulders in curiosity. Also whispers began to rise among the passengers who were so intrigued to know what's the matter.
At the Dublin Airport
This incident took place last 2 years during winter where we were on board for a flight from Dublin, Ireland to Venice, Italy. The four of us took two separate buses from Galway at the midnight prior and arrived in the Dublin Airport in the wee hours. So no doubt we were completely sleep-deprived and knackered. The only thing listed in my mind while waiting for the check-in counter to open was that as soon as I stepped my feet into the plane I would straight away perform the Fajr prayer and then doze off!
"Excuse me, can I ask why did they call out for doctors?" My friend who was a final year medical student at that time stopped a steward who was passing by along the aisle, to end the crave for information that nested in our chests.
"Well, there's a patient with tachycardia on the front seat there", his forefinger pointed to a direction to show where the poor patient was seated.
"Oh I see", she responded while everyone else who was also putting on their ears nodded in comprehension.
It felt much better that at least now we knew what was happening in the plane but something that I would like to point out here is that I was totally impressed with the use of 'tachycardia' by the steward. The term is actually very technical but he used it so naturally that I thought 'oh ya the people here are relatively used to using medical jargons in their daily conversation despite having no medical background'. Impressive, impressive.
With my shallow knowledge in medicine at that time I began to make my own hypotheses using my own algorithm. Uhm tachycardia doesn't necessarily imply a very serious event, it could happen in any situation. Even sitting for an exam can cause increased heart rate! ;) Therefore it's highly imperative for doctors to have a peek at a patient's full history and clinical presentations before anything else to avoid making a hasty conclusion. Investigations and managements should follow consequently but in a mere aircraft, what investigation tool can we expect?
"Should I go?" My final med friend nudged my arm for an opinion.
"Err ya of course. There seemed to be no medical doctors in the plane so why not, go ahead and see what ye can do!" Among the four of us, two were final meds and the other two including me were second meds.
So off they went to the front trying to lend a hand just if they could be of any help. I was like, wasn't that grand, I wished I was a doctor already ;). Soon insyaAllah. And then I went to perform the ablution to get ready for the Fajr prayer.
I managed to snooze in my seat for quite a while and as I woke up I saw that the girls' seats were still vacant. So I stood up and caught the sight of the two girls in the forefront. They're like doctors already, I monologued with a smile. I then sat back on the armchair and turned my head to the window to appreciate the view outside along the journey.
The scenery was absolutely marvelous! With the discrete layers of fluffy clouds which would definitely look like the sticky-sweet candy floss if drawn together, plus the neatly arranged dwellings which appeared very teensy and even much smaller than the house and hotel miniatures that we use to connote our properties when playing the board game Monopoly. Imagine we ourselves in the houses, how insignificant we were in the eyes of The Creator!
The extraordinary panorama that differed this flight with the previous flights that I had boarded was the flawless white snow coating the mighty Alps just like the confectioner's sugar frosting icing the top of a hot, freshly baked cinnamon roll. [Some exaggerations here- anyhow why are my illustrations all food-based I wonder ;)]. But ya, it was stunningly beautiful. Looking up on the internet I just picked up on the fact that the mountains of Alps actually stretch from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; while to France in the west. How incredible are God's creations! Subhanallah.
While I was diligently contemplating the breathtaking view outside, my attention was shattered by another announcement;
"Attention to all passengers, we're arriving in the Venice Treviso Airport shortly. We would like to remind the passengers to put on the seatbelts and...."
Beautiful Venice
So there we were, the plane finally touched down the land of the Byzantine Empire gracefully. The four of us only got back together at the baggage collection area. As we lined up at the immigration counter to get our passports stamped, a middle-aged bloke who was on the same plane as we were greeted our two final med heroes, "Life savers!".
We just chuckled and smiled. Proud of ye, girls! ;)
Later on our friends came to unfold the details of the story on what actually happened at the front seats. Apparently the tachycardic lady already had a preexisting disease, hypertension I think [forgot it at the moment]. So when suddenly her heart began to beat very quickly that situation alarmed her companion whom then sought the cabin crew's attention just to prepare for the worst case scenario.
Sometimes, or perhaps most of the time we have to be careful not to take patients' complaints as they are. As not everyone uses the term 'tachycardia' in the correct context so it could plainly mean that it's just that the heart itself suddenly beats faster than usual or it could also suggest palpitations which could be life-threatening if it involves fatal arrhythmias. So now maybe airline companies should consider equipping their aircraft with ECG device then? Hehe ;)
The most interesting part of the story was that the girls were kept at the front seats while 'paying attention' at the lady's progress. So they were given exclusive treatment by the cabin crew- a cup of hot drink each plus the wide and comfy front seats! And even one of the girls got the chance to enter the cockpit to speak to the pilot or co-pilot [I wasn't so sure but I believed of course it wasn't the one 'driving' the plane lol], just to explain what was going on and to discuss the necessity of turning back the plane; which was like, wow! How grand that was!
Anyhow the thing that they had to let go of was: SLEEP!
So that was a memorable incident we encountered en route from Dublin to Venice on the Ryanair aircraft. What a happy ending, alhamdulillah.
The End.
**********
In memory of those who lost their family members in the Air France's Airbus A330-200 Rio de Janeiro- Paris tragedy; I would like to express my heartfelt condolence to those inflicted. My best wishes are with you and may you be given the strength to endure this painful moment and poignant point in time. Whoever who lives shall die, it's us who are still alive whom have to press on with this life's journey.
Wallahu'alam.
*some alterations were made on the storyline.
A couple of minutes passed.
"We are calling for medical doctors on the aircraft, please report yourselves to the cabin crew. Thank you".
My friends and I were scattered on the Ryanair plane thus didn't get to sit next to each other. Upon hearing the announcement we instantly looked at each other with a question mark on our faces wondering what was on about with the calls. All shrugged the shoulders in curiosity. Also whispers began to rise among the passengers who were so intrigued to know what's the matter.
At the Dublin Airport"Excuse me, can I ask why did they call out for doctors?" My friend who was a final year medical student at that time stopped a steward who was passing by along the aisle, to end the crave for information that nested in our chests.
"Well, there's a patient with tachycardia on the front seat there", his forefinger pointed to a direction to show where the poor patient was seated.
"Oh I see", she responded while everyone else who was also putting on their ears nodded in comprehension.
It felt much better that at least now we knew what was happening in the plane but something that I would like to point out here is that I was totally impressed with the use of 'tachycardia' by the steward. The term is actually very technical but he used it so naturally that I thought 'oh ya the people here are relatively used to using medical jargons in their daily conversation despite having no medical background'. Impressive, impressive.
With my shallow knowledge in medicine at that time I began to make my own hypotheses using my own algorithm. Uhm tachycardia doesn't necessarily imply a very serious event, it could happen in any situation. Even sitting for an exam can cause increased heart rate! ;) Therefore it's highly imperative for doctors to have a peek at a patient's full history and clinical presentations before anything else to avoid making a hasty conclusion. Investigations and managements should follow consequently but in a mere aircraft, what investigation tool can we expect?
"Should I go?" My final med friend nudged my arm for an opinion.
"Err ya of course. There seemed to be no medical doctors in the plane so why not, go ahead and see what ye can do!" Among the four of us, two were final meds and the other two including me were second meds.
So off they went to the front trying to lend a hand just if they could be of any help. I was like, wasn't that grand, I wished I was a doctor already ;). Soon insyaAllah. And then I went to perform the ablution to get ready for the Fajr prayer.
I managed to snooze in my seat for quite a while and as I woke up I saw that the girls' seats were still vacant. So I stood up and caught the sight of the two girls in the forefront. They're like doctors already, I monologued with a smile. I then sat back on the armchair and turned my head to the window to appreciate the view outside along the journey.
The scenery was absolutely marvelous! With the discrete layers of fluffy clouds which would definitely look like the sticky-sweet candy floss if drawn together, plus the neatly arranged dwellings which appeared very teensy and even much smaller than the house and hotel miniatures that we use to connote our properties when playing the board game Monopoly. Imagine we ourselves in the houses, how insignificant we were in the eyes of The Creator!
The extraordinary panorama that differed this flight with the previous flights that I had boarded was the flawless white snow coating the mighty Alps just like the confectioner's sugar frosting icing the top of a hot, freshly baked cinnamon roll. [Some exaggerations here- anyhow why are my illustrations all food-based I wonder ;)]. But ya, it was stunningly beautiful. Looking up on the internet I just picked up on the fact that the mountains of Alps actually stretch from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; while to France in the west. How incredible are God's creations! Subhanallah.
"And it is He Who spread out the earth, and placed therein firm mountains and rivers and of every kind of fruits He made Zawjain Ithnain [two in pairs- may mean two kinds or it may mean: of two varieties, e.g. black and white, sweet and sour, small and big]. He brings the night as a cover over the day. Verily, in these things, there are Ayat [proofs, evidences, lessons, signs] for the people who understand."[Ar-Ra'd, 13:3]
While I was diligently contemplating the breathtaking view outside, my attention was shattered by another announcement;
"Attention to all passengers, we're arriving in the Venice Treviso Airport shortly. We would like to remind the passengers to put on the seatbelts and...."
Beautiful VeniceSo there we were, the plane finally touched down the land of the Byzantine Empire gracefully. The four of us only got back together at the baggage collection area. As we lined up at the immigration counter to get our passports stamped, a middle-aged bloke who was on the same plane as we were greeted our two final med heroes, "Life savers!".
We just chuckled and smiled. Proud of ye, girls! ;)
Later on our friends came to unfold the details of the story on what actually happened at the front seats. Apparently the tachycardic lady already had a preexisting disease, hypertension I think [forgot it at the moment]. So when suddenly her heart began to beat very quickly that situation alarmed her companion whom then sought the cabin crew's attention just to prepare for the worst case scenario.
Sometimes, or perhaps most of the time we have to be careful not to take patients' complaints as they are. As not everyone uses the term 'tachycardia' in the correct context so it could plainly mean that it's just that the heart itself suddenly beats faster than usual or it could also suggest palpitations which could be life-threatening if it involves fatal arrhythmias. So now maybe airline companies should consider equipping their aircraft with ECG device then? Hehe ;)
The most interesting part of the story was that the girls were kept at the front seats while 'paying attention' at the lady's progress. So they were given exclusive treatment by the cabin crew- a cup of hot drink each plus the wide and comfy front seats! And even one of the girls got the chance to enter the cockpit to speak to the pilot or co-pilot [I wasn't so sure but I believed of course it wasn't the one 'driving' the plane lol], just to explain what was going on and to discuss the necessity of turning back the plane; which was like, wow! How grand that was!
Anyhow the thing that they had to let go of was: SLEEP!
So that was a memorable incident we encountered en route from Dublin to Venice on the Ryanair aircraft. What a happy ending, alhamdulillah.
The End.
**********
In memory of those who lost their family members in the Air France's Airbus A330-200 Rio de Janeiro- Paris tragedy; I would like to express my heartfelt condolence to those inflicted. My best wishes are with you and may you be given the strength to endure this painful moment and poignant point in time. Whoever who lives shall die, it's us who are still alive whom have to press on with this life's journey.
"..."To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return" "[Al-Baqarah, 2:156]
Wallahu'alam.
*some alterations were made on the storyline.
