I've just enjoyed a vacation in England, the main purpose of the trip was to see my parents in Scarborough and spend some time with my daughter Amy in Newbury. We'd booked the flights using Delta Sky Miles on Virgin Airlines using their direct flights between Atlanta and Manchester.
On the outward flight I was sat across the aisle from a doctor, of course I didn't know this when we sat down in the seats but halfway across the Atlantic a member of the Virgin crew asked my neighbor if he'd be prepared to come and help a passenger that had medical issues.
I'd read about doctors refusing to help the general public in such situations because of the fear of potential law suits but the doctor in our row showed no hesitation, he jumped up and followed the flight attendant up to the first class cabin.
Since I was sat in economy it wasn't possible for me to see how the doctor and his new patient were doing. When I looked across the row I could see that the doctors wife was reading a book as if her husband being called to save a life was just an everyday experience. It must be an amazing feeling to be able to give someone the gift of continued life.
When wife number 23 was fighting osteo-sarcoma cancer we endured many visits to the emergency room at our local hospital, most of these were issues caused by the side effects of her treatment and a few were a result of her cancer tumor.
Sitting in a cubical while my wife was being treated I was fascinated to look through the gap in the curtains and watch the emergency room staff being able to handle every issue that walked or was wheeled through the doors. What kind of brain do these doctors have that can retain the multitude of treatments and drugs needed for all the medical situations they faced.
One time we arrived and wife 23 was in big trouble, she didn't want me to call 911 because she wanted to go to the emergency room of the hospital that she trusted. When you are fighting a major illness it's amazing how quickly your medical condition can change from "normal" to "deaths door" in the blink of an eye.
When she was admitted to a room I was asked to stay outside while the medical team tried to stabilize her situation. About 20 minutes later the door opened and I was allowed in the room to see wife 23, I can remember the shock of seeing her sat up and smiling with 4 saline bags being infused into her arms.
The journey in the car took about 25 minutes, it was her decision to drive instead of receiving treatment by first responders in an ambulance and she'd slipped in and out of consciousness as we drove. Once for a brief moment she had a moment of clarity and told me that she'd just seen the bright lights and I told her to try and stay away from them, even in her frail state she tried to laugh and then slipped away with a slight smile on her face.
It was only when the captain started the decent into Manchester that the doctor returned to his seat. His wife gave him a questioning look and he told her that all was well and that the patients vitals had stabilized. While I'd been trying to sleep my neighbor had been helping someone fight for their life, when this thought passed through my mind all of my problems, discomfort and niggles left my consciousness.
Just before we dropped down to the altitude where the inevitable English clouds bounced us around the Virgin flight attendant arrived with a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee served on real china crockery. I concluded that the poor doctor had been too busy taking care of his patient to be concerned about missing breakfast, also he'd had the integrity not to steal the breakfast of the person potentially dying in front of him.
When we landed the passengers were instructed to remain in their seats while a sick passenger was taken off for medical attention. Coming from a family of detectives it didn't take too long to deduce that this was the person my neighbor had been helping.
In my youth I wouldn't have said anything to the doctor but now with the wisdom and maturity gained from being around for 59 years I asked him how stressful his flight had been, he smiled and said that it was an interesting flight in many ways. I told him that it must be wonderful to be able to help people with his skills and he said being a doctor was a most rewarding profession. The doctor laughed when I told him that saving a life must be worth more than a Virgin Airlines breakfast sandwich even if it was from First Class.
That's my reality,
Jobsonian
On the outward flight I was sat across the aisle from a doctor, of course I didn't know this when we sat down in the seats but halfway across the Atlantic a member of the Virgin crew asked my neighbor if he'd be prepared to come and help a passenger that had medical issues.
I'd read about doctors refusing to help the general public in such situations because of the fear of potential law suits but the doctor in our row showed no hesitation, he jumped up and followed the flight attendant up to the first class cabin.
Since I was sat in economy it wasn't possible for me to see how the doctor and his new patient were doing. When I looked across the row I could see that the doctors wife was reading a book as if her husband being called to save a life was just an everyday experience. It must be an amazing feeling to be able to give someone the gift of continued life.
When wife number 23 was fighting osteo-sarcoma cancer we endured many visits to the emergency room at our local hospital, most of these were issues caused by the side effects of her treatment and a few were a result of her cancer tumor.
Sitting in a cubical while my wife was being treated I was fascinated to look through the gap in the curtains and watch the emergency room staff being able to handle every issue that walked or was wheeled through the doors. What kind of brain do these doctors have that can retain the multitude of treatments and drugs needed for all the medical situations they faced.
One time we arrived and wife 23 was in big trouble, she didn't want me to call 911 because she wanted to go to the emergency room of the hospital that she trusted. When you are fighting a major illness it's amazing how quickly your medical condition can change from "normal" to "deaths door" in the blink of an eye.
When she was admitted to a room I was asked to stay outside while the medical team tried to stabilize her situation. About 20 minutes later the door opened and I was allowed in the room to see wife 23, I can remember the shock of seeing her sat up and smiling with 4 saline bags being infused into her arms.
The journey in the car took about 25 minutes, it was her decision to drive instead of receiving treatment by first responders in an ambulance and she'd slipped in and out of consciousness as we drove. Once for a brief moment she had a moment of clarity and told me that she'd just seen the bright lights and I told her to try and stay away from them, even in her frail state she tried to laugh and then slipped away with a slight smile on her face.
It was only when the captain started the decent into Manchester that the doctor returned to his seat. His wife gave him a questioning look and he told her that all was well and that the patients vitals had stabilized. While I'd been trying to sleep my neighbor had been helping someone fight for their life, when this thought passed through my mind all of my problems, discomfort and niggles left my consciousness.
Just before we dropped down to the altitude where the inevitable English clouds bounced us around the Virgin flight attendant arrived with a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee served on real china crockery. I concluded that the poor doctor had been too busy taking care of his patient to be concerned about missing breakfast, also he'd had the integrity not to steal the breakfast of the person potentially dying in front of him.
When we landed the passengers were instructed to remain in their seats while a sick passenger was taken off for medical attention. Coming from a family of detectives it didn't take too long to deduce that this was the person my neighbor had been helping.
In my youth I wouldn't have said anything to the doctor but now with the wisdom and maturity gained from being around for 59 years I asked him how stressful his flight had been, he smiled and said that it was an interesting flight in many ways. I told him that it must be wonderful to be able to help people with his skills and he said being a doctor was a most rewarding profession. The doctor laughed when I told him that saving a life must be worth more than a Virgin Airlines breakfast sandwich even if it was from First Class.
That's my reality,
Jobsonian
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