If you’re going to have a medical emergency on a flight, you hope there’s a doctor on board to help. And when it happened to retired Air Force Colonel Tom McCray, he was fortunate enough to have around 20 medical professionals step up and offer assistance. There were so many on board because they were returning from a medical conference.
They were on a flight from Atlanta to Houston when McCray fell ill, slipping into a semi-conscious state. As his wife Maggie called out for help, doctors rushed to his side and began treating him. Dr. Jeffrey Aycock, an oral surgeon, used three seats as a bed to lay McCray down and open his airway and gave him oxygen.
He had a “strong but very, very low pulse rate” but stable blood pressure, and it took doctors between eight and 10 minutes to fully stabilize him. And he’s fine but following up with his doctor on the ground. The McCrays, Dr. Aycock, and Dr. Andrew Grant, who also helped, all commend Southwest Airlines for their impressive response to a scary situation.
Source: NBC News