Mumbai (The Hawk): A famous Mumbai gynaecologist helped to save the life of an engineer from Kolhapur who suffered a medical emergency on a Delhi-to-Mumbai aircraft.
Aboard December 17, at approximately 9.30 p.m., while the passengers on Vistara flight UK957 were settling in for a nice dinner, the aircraft's public address system began to crackle.
"Is there a physician on board? An air hostess repeated three times, "We have a medical emergency on board," and the single medic, Niranjan Chavan, left his lunch in the middle.
He raced to the rear of the aircraft and was surprised to witness a young fellow passenger fighting to breathe, with his eyes rolled back and his body cold, collapsed on his seat and causing alarm among the other passengers.
Later, he was recognised as Sushant Shelke, a 31-year-old engineer from Kolhapur, who was returning from a professional assignment in New Delhi with an assistant.
I tested his pulse but was unable to detect a beat." Then I attempted to confirm it with my smartwatch and received a weak reading of approximately 96. His blood pressure had dramatically dropped. His hypotension manifested as cold, clammy hands. Given the circumstances in-flight, these are not very encouraging indicators, Chavan told IANS.
Immediately, he instructed the airline cabin staff, comprised of Kavita, Shipra, and Hamarzyde, to start oxygen, obtained sugar powder and maintained it on Shelke's tongue, and then gave Shelke, who had just become a proud new father a week prior, fruit juice to drink.
Chavan rubbed his hands and arms to improve blood flow and body warmth, despite the fact that the personnel shooed away other guests who sought to observe the therapy.
"He appeared to improve over time. Slowly, he said that he was observing a religious fast on that day (17 December), but had survived on tea-biscuits for three days in New Delhi because he missed his mother's typical Kolhapuri cuisine.
Chavan said that after around 45 minutes, Shelke's blood pressure returned to near-normal levels, the colour returned to his face, and he appeared stronger and happier.
Before disembarking, the doctor, who is the President of the prominent Mumbai Obstetrics & Gynaecological Society (MOGS, founded in 1934), completed the necessary airline and medical procedures.
Later, after midnight, Shelke was turned over to the medical staff waiting at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, who took his further charge and whisked him away for 'observation,' despite his eagerness to return to his family in Kolhapur.
"It was a terrifying situation, my first in almost three decades of flying all over the world, but it was a huge learning experience for me treating a critically ill passenger in midair," said Chavan, who also praised the Vistara pilots and crew for their promptness without panicking.
(Inputs from Agencies)
