A while back I was one a first class flight from Haiti to New York a row behind the front and in the middle. It was a relatively empty flight (about 1/2 to 3/4 full), everything was going smooth enough and I was just getting set to snooze. Pretty soon I watched a FA ask the passengers in the front right side row to move to different seats for another passenger. As soon as the front row passengers got all their things gathered up another FA came up from coach with her arm around what appeared to be a young Haitian woman wrapped in a blanket. As the FA takes the woman to the front row and gets her settled I noticed that this woman has what appears to be about a 5 to 7 month baby bump, and the woman breathing as if she is in labor!
The FA stays by this passenger’s side and pretty soon she signals to another FA and we hear an announcement for the need of a doctor for a medical emergency. A middle-aged man a few rows behind me stands and makes his way to the front to examine the woman. He and the FA are talking to the young passenger in very hushed tones and before long more FAs show up with blankets and start partitioning the whole first row off with them! We all sat in eerie silence, no one else on the plane was able to take their eyes off the blanket cubicle that is now the front row of the plane. After what seemed like an eternity I hear a hushed sound of shock from the FA in the blanket cubicle, then the sound of the air mask being taken down, then I hear someone in that area exclaim “Her head is too small for the mask!” A few more tense moments and the sound of a baby crying fills the cabin!
About 20 minutes later we land to see EMTs fill the cabin and help the young Haitian woman who had just given birth in the air to the smallest infant I have ever seen. The baby must have been at least 2 months premature, but it looked healthy.
Not really a FFH, but definitely one worth noting for the courage and quick thinking of one particular FA.
Tagged as:
children & babies,
doctor,
flight attendant
I was the passenger from hell. I was flying from Texas to MD with my 2 month old son. I knew I did not fly well and had asked the doctor what I could take as I was nursing. He said it was quick flight and I would be fine. WRONG!!
I had to take a hop flight on the first leg of the journey. This flight included a broken seat, curtains hiding the cockpit and two very small propellers. We made it to Dallas. I thought I was going to have an hour lay over to settle my stomach. Nope, right on the next plane. I was in an aisle seat with my son and it started. I was sick as a dog. I tried to get to the bathroom but I was carrying my son and almost passed out. I asked for the little white bags. I was so bad. I really felt bad for the two men sitting next to me and then I realized that the in-flight meal was spaghetti (gross).
We finally landed. They had called for a wheel car to help me off the plane. I said no as my parents were meeting me and I did not want to freak them out. The men sitting next to me carried my son and carry-on luggage out.
I apologize to everyone of that flight. I feel so bad.
To say the least for the flights back I bought formula and the strongest motion sickness pills out there.
Tagged as:
children & babies,
doctor,
illness & medical,
medication & drugs,
pregnant,
puddle jumper,
vomit
I was on a quick flight from BWI to DTW. We boarded the plane as usual and a man in the row behind me got up to use the lavatory at the rear of the plane. However, I guess he didn’t quite make it onto the toilet. Apparently he covered much of the room with his explosive diarrhea. Of course, the smell lingered up the entire plane. The flight ended up being delayed almost 2 hours so the area could be cleaned and sanitized (God bless the guys that had to deal with that job). Then a doctor for NWA had to come and make this guy sign a waiver saying he was traveling against medical orders. The rest of the flight was uneventful. I spent my time praying for no more explosions.
Tagged as:
doctor,
lavatory,
poop
I was flying back to Fargo from Boston after a spring break. In the six months prior to this flight, I had passed 15+ kidney stones. The very week prior to this flight, I had surgery to remove a rather large stone. After that surgery, I was given an antibiotic to help avoid an infection.
Now, I told you that to tell you this. I didn’t take the medication all week while I was home. I did, however, take it the night before I flew and again while waiting in the terminal. About 2 hours into the flight, I started feeling sick. Then I got sick.
I rushed to the bathroom, where I proceeded to continue getting sick. Finally, it stopped. This entire time I felt my fingers start to tingle. Then my whole arm. Then my chest, face, and throat. I managed to get out of the bathroom and grab a flight attendant.
“I think I need a doctor” I said. Then I hit the floor. The tingling kept getting worse, and eventually my throat closed. Shortly after that, I was unconscious.
We were originally going to Minneapolis, but I woke up a short time later while we were on final approach into Chicago. Lucky for me, there was a doctor on board. He knew I was going into anaphylactic shock and administered an epi-pen. How he knew what was happening… I’ll never know. It was almost the flight TO hell, rather than the flight FROM hell.
Tagged as:
doctor,
holiday,
illness & medical,
medication & drugs
