The Doc's First Patient

Pssst - Sara wouldn't want me to tell you this because she thinks it's "dorky," but I think it's pretty cool, and I think you'll agree.

Allow me to set the scene...

March 28, 2007. Emirates Airlines flight EK0722, departing from Nairobi to Dubai. The craft has boarded and is about to commence liftoff. It's 23:46, so everybody's drifting off to sleep - including the Doc, in her sky-blue Target eyemask. I'm uncomfortable, because I can never figure out how to relax my neck while in an upright seated position.

...But as destiny would have it, danger brewed five rows ahead. A fellow passenger was ailing and was unfit to take to the skies this fateful night.

A flight attendant bellowed: "Is there a doctor or medical professional on board with their license handy?"

Nobody raised a solitary hand. A long pause. The Doc removed her sleepwear and misplaced it somewhere in that long moment.

She bellowed again: "Is there any doctor aboard with any identification at all?"

Still, no hands raised.

The Doc then calmly raised her hand, and the flight attendant approached. "Are you a registered nurse?" The attendant cocked her head.

I shot her a "you sexist!" glare, but the Doc politely corrected her, offered her passport as identification, and more fully qualified her medical expertise. The Doc rose to see the ailing passenger, and the craft hushed. Several tumbleweeds blew across the aisle (well, not really - but it'd have been fitting).

I sat patiently as she assessed the situation several rows ahead. Three visibly panicked flight attendants flanked her as she spoke to the ill passenger, nodding politely and docilely.

I covertly filmed the majority of this exchange with our digital camera, as I awaited the prognosis with the rest of the captive audience.

Due to HIPAA policy, I'm unable to disclose specific patient information, but the Doc suggested that the passenger leave the flight. Now, I applaud the Doc for her swift and righteous justice, but removing the passenger and respective luggage added another hour to our flight. The Doc returned to sleep quickly, but not before accepting a free Emirates Airlines pair of socks and a replacement sleeping mask.

Perhaps I'll write a limerick to honor the event - or maybe an epic poem - or maybe a rag-tag guitar tale in the style of Jim Croce or Arlo Guthrie. In any case, I can't sleep since I'm so excited!

Hooray for our not-yet-employed Doc!