The Latest ASCCSAFE September 2023

Dr. John S. Gaal, Director - Worker Wellness, Missouri Works Initiative

Last fall, my wife and I were traveling from St. Louis to a large conference being held in Las Vegas. Prior to departing for the airport, we were issued boarding passes that seemed inconsistent with our fares. Upon reaching our gate, I spoke with an airline representative about the seating issue. He checked and told me the tickets were not issued incorrectly. Nevertheless, by the time we boarded Flight 928 on 22-OCT-22, we could only find seats in the back one-third of the aircraft.

Approximately 45 minutes into the flight, a passenger—in the middle seat—sitting across the aisle from us began to scream. Immediately, flight attendants ascended upon her seating area only to find a young man passed out and leaning into the aisleway—motionless—in the seat next to this woman. The flight attendants loudly requested the assistance of any first responders onboard. I jumped up and worked my way over to assist this young man. Seconds later, another man came to the rescue wherein he and I picked up the young man, carried him to the back of the plane, and laid him on the floor. While on our way back, I yelled out to my wife, “Throw me the Narcan.” (She and I were trained to administer Narcan the previous summer.)

Once we laid the young man on the floor, a lady joined us and said she was a nurse. She performed a sternum rub on this young man’s chest. Nothing! Seconds later, another man appeared with a stethoscope and indicated he was an anesthesiologist. At that point, the man who helped me carry the victim to the back of the plane looked up and said, “I’m an ER doctor and this person has no pulse and is not breathing.” Within minutes the nurse and anesthesiologist returned to their seats. At which time, the ER doctor asked the flight attendants if they had a first aid kit available. One of the two flight attendants opened a cabinet and produced the first aid kit. As the ER doctor went to open it, the flight attendant grabbed his hand and said, “You cannot open this without the permission of our doctor and that needs to be obtained from our captain.” Words were exchanged between the captain, flight attendants, HQ doctor, and ER doctor.

Eventually, the ER doctor checked the victim’s pulse and breathing again, andnothing! He then requested that one of the flight attendants give us their cell phone to use as a flashlight. At this point, I could no longer remain quiet. This victim had all the easily visible signs of an opioid overdose: sweating, not breathing, vomiting, unresponsiveness, etc. Therefore, I took the cell phone’s flashlight and shined it into the victim’s right eye. This totally confirmed my hunch: His pupil was the size of the period at the end of this sentence. I then looked at the ER doctor and said, “This young man is in opioid overdose, I have Narcan in my hand, and I am going to use it.” The ER doctor looked at me and said, “Are you a doctor and why do you have Narcan?” My reply was, “Yes but not your kind of doctor and opioid overdoses are happening all across this nation.” 

Once I administered the Narcan we rolled the victim on his side and placed an oxygen mask on him. Within three minutes, this young man began to breathe again. Within 10 minutes, we had him back on his feet, drinking orange juice, and heading to his seat. I now experienced, firsthand, why they call this THE LAZARUS DRUG. With this potential disaster averted, the plane continued to Las Vegas vs making a possible detour to Kansas City.

Nearly 50 years ago I earned my Eagle Scout award. Throughout that journey, I was constantly reminded of the Boy Scout motto: BE PREPARED. Although I was not able to save my 24-year-old son from suicide six years ago, our family’s tragedy led me to deeply contemplate what more I could have done and what more should I be doing. As such, I undertook a variety of trainings in the areas of Mental Health, opioids awareness, and suicide prevention (mostly focused on the construction industry). For this young man on Flight 928 last fall, I can attest good prevails! (The irony is that my son’s favorite movie was Silver Linings.)

In closing, I often share with younger colleagues that luck is not some mystical gift, but rather, it is a matter of being in the right place, at the right time, with the right set of skills.

For more details: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/tony-messenger/messenger-st-louis-man-who-saved-overdose-victim-pushes-airline-to-carry-narcan/article_54ced5c1-9d10-5867-9101-979b08e9bc3e.html

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2023-05-23/everyone-should-be-carrying-the-overdose-reversal-medication-naloxone-advocates-say