"Good Karma": Internet Praises Kochi Doctor Who Saved "Breathless" Passenger's Life Mid-Air

On the night of January 14, Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, a passenger aboard an Akasa Air flight from Kochi to Mumbai, played a vital role in aiding a fellow traveler who was struggling with difficulty breathing, attributed to critically low oxygen levels and high blood pressure.

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How he saved a life mid-air

Reflecting on the incident mid-flight, Dr. Philips mentioned that it marked the first instance in three and a half years where he actively utilised a stethoscope. The distressed passenger's family expressed deep gratitude to Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips for his prompt and life-saving intervention.

Dr. Philips shared that, during the journey, he had been attempting to take a nap due to fatigue from work when a fellow passenger seated beside him began experiencing significant breathing difficulties.

"I found the air hostess trying to plug in the man's nebulizer for emergency inhalational treatment and I helped her get the machine running. He spoke in broken sentences, but he was not getting better," he wrote on X.

He shared that he was confused about why the passenger who did not have asthma, had a nebulization kit. "I asked for the stethoscope and found that his left-side lung sounds were completely absent. It was water-filled (a condition called pleural effusion)," he said.

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"Was on dialysis 3 days a week"

In the midst of struggling breaths, the distressed passenger conveyed to the doctor that his kidneys were in poor condition. "I asked him if he was on dialysis and he was on it three days a week and the next one was planned for the next day. His medications were over last night. I scroll through his unlocked phone images to see his last prescriptions. Most were for high blood pressure. I checked his blood pressure and found it was 280/160 and he was in accelerated hypertension with drowning lungs. We had 1 hour to land for emergency medical services to attend him. We had to keep him alive," Dr Philips recalled.

Dr. Philip recounted that while still in the air, he performed a double puncture on the only accessible vein on the right side, and unfortunately, any further access was lost. The other upper limb had a dialysis fistula, but it was not usable by the doctor. "So I gave him a frusemide injection into his buttock muscles ( a VERY long time since I gave an adult an intramuscular injection) after telling him it was going to pain, but I had no other options and also because it was so hard to find a vein as he was struggling and the flight was a bit turbulent," Dr Philips shared.

Dr. Philips also commended the Akasa Air crew for their assistance in preserving the passenger's life. He expressed appreciation, stating, "They quickly changed and provided oxygen cylinders without haste helped me get his saturation to above 90%. I found some blood pressure-lowering medications in the flight ER kit and helped the man swallow them in between breaths."

See the post here:

As a doctor, the first time I actually used a stethoscope after three and half years was on a mid air flight, two days ago.

On my flight from Kochi to Mumbai via @AkasaAir the man sitting next to me became breathless.

I was tired from work and it was a late evening flight and¡­ pic.twitter.com/Doyl4Yyjin

¡ª TheLiverDoc (@theliverdr) January 16, 2024

Upon landing, the passenger received the necessary medical treatment. He was swiftly transported to a nearby hospital, and Dr. Philips promptly informed the patient's family about the situation. "The next day, his family messaged me to let me know that he was well. In the evening, after my podcast recording, the patient himself called me after he was shifted out of ICU post-emergency dialysis," the doctor said.

Akasa Air's statement

Replying to Dr Philips's post, Akasa Air wrote, "We are extremely grateful for your quick response and immediate assistance which was instrumental in saving the life of a fellow passenger onboard our flight QP 1519. Our crew members Dhanya, Zargaam, Arnav, Kiritika in the cabin and Munish & Neha from the flight deck were privileged to have you as a crucial part of the team. Thank you once again for embodying the true spirit of care and compassion."

Netizens praised him for his efforts

Dr. Philips' post quickly gained traction and went viral, garnering widespread appreciation from internet users.

A user wrote, "Great work Dr Abby Philips. Amazing!"

"Felt so happy reading this update. Great work, Dr Abby," another user wrote.

"It was his good karma that you were on the flight and he got a lease of life," the third user commented.