It was Monday night on one of the last flights of the day from Hong Kong to Bangkok. The plane was filled with Thai passengers returning home after the long weekend to celebrate the Coronation, along with Hong Kong residents travelling for business or leisure.
For me, it was a connecting flight back to my wife and children after a ten-and-a-half hour first leg following a week abroad. Two hours into the flight, just twenty minutes before landing, the announcement came on.
"Anyone who is a medical professional or has medical experience, please identify yourself to one of our crew. One of our passengers is in need of medical assistance," said the female voice.
Less than 10 seconds later, an angel appeared. "I am a doctor," she said, raising her right hand to identify herself to one of the crew, who guided her to the back of the plane.
I was sitting not far from the patient in distress, a young woman in her 20s or 30s who had chest pain and was struggling to breathe.
Within 10 minutes of first aid being administered, the patient was brought back to her seat with an oxygen mask and tank. While she had been stabilised, the concerned looks on the faces of the crew told us the patient's ordeal was not over yet. Then the second announcement came up, this time it was the captain.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching Suvarnabhumi Airport and we are about to make our descent. Please return to your seat as the seatbelt sign has been turned on. Cabin crew please prepare the cabin for landing," he said with a calm voice. We all knew it would be a fast descent; however, it was not scary as everyone's attention was focused on the patient, hoping she was going to be okay.
Right before we landed, the captain calmly told us: "Ladies and gentlemen, as there is an emergency case on board, I would like to kindly ask all passengers to remain seated once the plane has landed to allow the medical team to come up and assist the patient, thank you."
After a perfect touchdown, the plane was guided to the nearest gate as planned by Airports of Thailand (AOT) authorities, who had arranged for a medical team to stand by.
Less than five minutes after the plane landed, the five team members boarded the plane, and less than five minutes later they were off the plane with the patient. Not a single passenger had stood up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for your cooperation which allowed everything go very smoothly and sorry again for the delay, I will turn off the seatbelt sign now, thank you," the captain said, a sign of relief in his voice.
I wrote this to salute the captain and the crew of Cathay Pacific Flight CX 613 for their commendable job of handling the situation perfectly. Air traffic control, the ground crew and the medical team members all did their jobs flawlessly.
As for the passengers on the flight, I did not hear a word of complaint from anyone; they were genuinely concerned for the welfare of a fellow human being. Their sympathetic expressions before we landed and their happy faces after the captain's last announcement said it all.
But the hero of the day was the unnamed angel of Flight CX 613, the doctor who came forward to answer her call of duty as a medical professional. I am sure she will go on to save countless more lives and I hope that the patient is now out of the hospital and back home amid the comfort of her family.
I express that hope for two reasons. First, I genuinely wish her well even though I don't know her, simply because she is a fellow human being. Second, the experience has restored my faith in humanity. I now know that when worse comes to worst, people, no matter where they are from, will always come together to help each other, and if we all work together, good things can happen.
For my part, I wish I could tell more stories like this one, and will end with a quotation by Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda, which I will watch with my son, again:
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift … that's why they call it present".
Happy Monday everyone.
