1400 Thursday to 2100 Friday
A: Encounter with a young woman in an Airplane Toilet
No, this is not a story about the famed, Mile High Club!
Esconsed in seat 2E, enjoying a glass of a South African White Mix (nothing racial, mind you), Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc, I hear the chirpy Flight Attendant, tapping my shoulder and say, Are you a doctor? (she has the passenger list). Yes, I am. what sort? Medical?
There is a woman who has passed out in the toilet. Could you? I will hold your lunch.
Dont worry, and I reached out for my stethoscope which I had put in my carry on luggage, and walked to the back of the plane.
I was expecting an older lady, gasping for breath or another sweating clutching the chest or a diabetic cold and clammy..
I prepared for such a scenario,
But, stretched out on the cramped toilet with her leg up on the wash basin was a very attractive young woman, well coiffed and well dressed, with a very large diamond on her wedding ring!
My first question was, Did you get enough sleep last night?
Yes.
Alcohol, Drugs, Discos all flashed through my mind. I checked her pulse, it was a whopping 140/minute. She was short of breath but in no pain. I listened to her heart, it was regular, thus decreasing the doubt of a fatal heart beat problem.
Does this come on when you are flying? No
Are you excited or nervous ? No.
As I was talking to her, i noticed that her pulse rate had come down to 120/min. The Flight Attendant had connected me to the MedLink on the ground. BP? 110/60 but looking at her slender build, I guessed it was probably not far from her regular BP. What is your normal BP, aroud 120 ? Yes, confirmed.
I had a feeling more and more confident that this was a supraventicular tachycardia, while appearing dangerous, may not be as life threatening as Ventricular tachycardia.
She had her both feet up in the wash basin, and slowly the colour was coming back to her face.
I will be alright, she said, I had something like this about four months ago, it went away by itself.
Few more minutes of talk, pulse now 100/min. MedLink was on the line again. How is she doing? She will be fine, I told them, she will follow this up with her doctor..
In a few more minutes she said, I want to go back to my seat.
A few people had gathered at the scence. I was particularly suspicious of a young man trying to get closer to her, ogling at her.. Oh! Boy!
I went back to seat 2 E
A cold bottle of South AFrican white wine was on my seat. Tina, the Fight attendant, came in with an effusive thank you and a pleasant conversation followed.
On arriving at MIA, I went straight to Baptist Hospital Oncology Treatment section where my sister was receiving the last but one of her chemotherapies!
