Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews advised a doctor and saved a passenger’s life on board a Southwest Airlines flight from Baltimore to Phoenix today.
The situation onboard the aircraft had become tense after a woman suddenly became critically ill, with an extremely low blood pressure and a lack of strong pulse, necessitating the immediate use of oxygen. A doctor and nurse on board volunteered to help stabilize the woman’s condition, but her heart rate remained unstable.
Andrews stepped in. He suggested that the woman’s symptoms might be due to her blood sugar levels and offered his personal diabetic testing kit as a potential solution. He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 9.
He guided the medical professionals on how to use the testing kit effectively. The woman’s heart rate eventually stabilized. The flight didn’t need to divert, and paramedics met the aircraft on arrival.
Mark Andrews shared,
In addition to the fast-acting flight attendants, the real heroes are the nurse and doctor who also happened to be on the plane. Thankfully they were able to provide the woman the quick assistance she needed.
A woman on my @southwest flight from Baltimore to Phoenix this morning had a mid-flight medical emergency. The doctor and nurse attending to her couldn’t find a strong pulse, her blood pressure was extremely low, and required oxygen to breathe. It was genuinely scary. (1/3)
— Andrew Springs (@NaturalSprings) February 1, 2024
Paramedics met the flight as soon as we landed. Andrews deplaned quietly. No fanfare. As he has done his whole career, he stepped up in a huge moment when people needed him most.
Watching complete strangers spring into action to help save someone’s life is truly amazing. (3/3)
— Andrew Springs (@NaturalSprings) February 1, 2024
The decisive action aboard a Southwest Airlines flight not only highlights the NFL star’s quick thinking and compassion but serves as a profound reminder of the impact individuals can have in critical moments, turning a potentially tragic situation into a life-saving triumph.
How could a doctor and nurse not suspect low blood sugar?
Such things should be standard emergency gear on planes.
A good job by Mr. Andrews. I am also diabetic and I always have my test kit in my zippered jacket pocket plus I have Smarties candies which are almost completely glucose because I do not rely on others to have what I need to counteract low blood sugar. Very low blood sugar levels are usually caused by medication (including insulin) so the person taking the medication should be aware of what it can do. I wonder if the woman was incoherent or only partially conscious.
That’s my TE! Boomer!
@Chris
Probably dei affirmative action types.
@chris I’ve been on a plane with a medical emergency that happened to have paramedics and EMT’s on it. That’s who you want in this situation – not a doctor or nurse. Doctors and nurses are mostly not trained to recognize stuff like this unless you work in an ER.
My wife is a nurse and I have lots of doctor friends. Most don’t remember everything they were taught in school 20 or 30 years ago.
That said, hats off to Mr. Daniels!
Gary this post sounds like was written by ChatGPT. Was it ?
Was it even her blood sugar. Just surprised they don’t mention what the level was. Hope she’s okay.
Maybe the doctor was a DO, not a MD? Or a nurse practitioner with a doctorate (DNP) that calls themselves doctor?
I’m a amateur Gynacologist, I would never have thought of blood sugar either. Kudos to the other fake doctor and nurse, and of course to the quarterback or whatever the heck this clown is as well. YAWN…..
WOW!
Quick thinking and acting saved this woman!
Mark is a star not only on the football field but thousands of feet above it as well.
Mark Andrews isn’t just a star on the field, but also a hero in the skies, His quick thinking and lifesaving intervention on the Southwest Airlines flight exemplify true courage and compassion. Thank you, Mark, for your selflessness and for making a real difference when it mattered most.
Glucose testing kits are often not included in the medical emergency kits on an airplane. They should be, as one writer has already stated.
It could well be that it wasn’t that the doctor or nurse didn’t think of this, but rather that the means to test was not immediately available.
What was not mentioned was how the blood sugar was normalized, once it was found to be low. It would be useful to hear how this was done with the equipment that was available. Did the Ravens Football player also have a Glucagon emergency injection device? Did they start an IV? If there is more information shared, please post the additional details.
“How could a doctor and nurse not suspect low blood sugar?“
It’s really not clear that they didn’t suspect it. We don’t really have a timeline or anything
We are all trained the same way. “ABC”
Airway first
Breathing second
Circulation third
So the doc and nurse were correctly ensuring ABC, most likely also while forming a differential diagnosis (possibility list)
The athlete (still a hero) may have suggested his kit during the ABC process which can take a few minutes
In addition this article never mentions that the woman actually had low blood sugar. Only that they tested for it and then her heart rate stabilized. No mention whatever that she actually had hypoglycemia or that they treated it.
Her heart rate most likely stabilized due to the oxygen. (ABC)
Hate to ruin a feel good story because his actions were extremely admirable. Bravo!
But a lot missing here.
FWIW: ex critical care doc
The doctor, nurse and the Raven are all heroes. While privacy concerns don’t allow for the complete story, in a medical crisis we need all the help we can receive. Good job
Don’t you wish you got the fly in planes with as aisle as wide as that shown in the (surely AI generated) illustration for the article? You’d also have a huge comfortable seat, and a doctor and nurse (in white coats and with a giant medical kit) in attendance on every flight.