FARMVILLE, Va. -- Study abroad took on a new meaning for a group of Longwood University nursing students two weeks ago.
That’s because mid-flight on their way home from Ireland, a medical emergency happened while the plane was above the ocean.
The Longwood students and faculty members Dr. Kim Little and Professor Lisa Minor sprang into action.
They described the passenger as very pale, said she had passed out in her seat and was unresponsive.
“We met eyes and we knew without communicating we had a very dire situation,” said Minor.
Based on their initial assessments, they believed the woman was having a cardiac emergency. According to the women, they’d soon learn there was no immediate airport to land, and their initial destination was still over two hours away. Little shared how they both knew that was too long with what was going on with her.
As a result, the United air crew decided to divert the flight to an airport in Nova Scotia. However, that was still an hour and a half away.
The women said passengers were ready to jump in to help and some gave up their first class seats so they were able to create a makeshift bed. The women used an airline wheelchair on the flight to wheel the passenger from the back of the plane, to first class to have more space to take care of her. Clothes hangers from a passenger were also handed to the pair to hang the IV on the overhead bin.
Through it all, the women said flight crews were right by their sides giving them all the emergency tools on the plane. In addition, they connected them to an on the ground physician who was giving orders.
“Your instinct takes over. Your adrenaline takes over and you just don’t think of it. Your training comes in and you do what you were trained to do,” said Minor.
They were able to keep the woman alive until the plane could land in Nova Scotia. Paramedics rushed to get the woman off the plane and they were back up in the air just over 30 minutes later, said the pair.
“To hear our efforts made a difference and she was able to come back home... it makes you feel good,” shared Little.
As the women reflect on everything that happened, they said they can’t help recognizing how beautiful it was to have so many people work together to help to save a live.
They believe their efforts, doing what they say “nurses do,” also showed their students on the plane how nursing can transcend far beyond the typical day at the office. The pair said their actions is what they teach their students — use good clinical judgment skills, and constantly access a patient because their status can change quickly.
“I really believe God had a hand in having us where we needed to be,” Minor added.
The pair said because of privacy laws, United Airlines could only tell them the woman had a flight booked home two days following the incident. The woman said they are taking that as a very good sign that she is hopefully on the road to recovery.
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