‘Angels in the sky': Doctor saves man's life during flight
T.J. Trad, an invasive cardiologist with Stillwater Medical Center, detailed the moments and how he used a portable EKG monitor to stabilize the passenger experiencing chest pain.
'He was very anxious, he said, and 'I'm going to die,' and the first thing that came to my mind was, 'Not today,'' said Trad.
Trad was returning to the U.S. after working with about 100 patients for free through his organization, Cura for the World and Project Orphans, when a passenger began experiencing chest pain.
Courtney Wood, a nurse travelling with Dr. Trad, alerted him to the situation, prompting him to immediately assist the passenger. Dr. Trad used a KardiaMobile Card, a portable EKG monitor, to assess the man's condition 30,000 feet in the air.
'I asked him on a scale from 0-10, 10 being the most intense pain you've ever had. He said, 'I'm at a 10,'' Trad said.
Working with other healthcare professionals on board, they managed to reduce the man's pain to zero within about 30 minutes and kept him stable until the plane landed in Amsterdam.
'The nurse that was sitting at bedside, she was getting vitals every 5-10 minutes. So, she was getting his heart rate, his pulse ox, his blood pressure, and she was documenting that on a piece of paper,' Trad said. 'They gave me a seat right next to the door, where the pilot is, so that I can give him updates.'
Reflecting on the incident, Dr. Trad described it as a full-circle moment, having experienced a heart attack himself while working to save another life.
'You try your best to act very fast during moments like that, but having felt what this patient had felt, or what other patients had felt, makes me a better doctor, a lot more compassionate, a lot more empathetic,' he said.
The patient, who spent the night in the hospital and was discharged the next day, is reportedly doing OK.
Trad humbly attributed the successful outcome to divine intervention.
'His wife hugged me, and she said we were her angels in the sky, and that was very, very sweet,' he said.
Dr. Trad advises travellers to carry items like nitroglycerin or aspirin in case of a cardiovascular emergency. He remains focused on his foundation's clinics, including one in Creek County.
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