Doctor first, H.E later: TS Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan treats sick passenger midair

Hyderabad: It was around 4 am on July 23 when there was a panic call from the air hostess of the Indigo flight from Delhi to Hyderabad.

The air hostess asked loudly, "Is there any doctor on the flight?"

A lady rose from her seat and rushed towards the rear end of the flight to see the patient. The sick passenger was looking drowsy and was sweating profusely. He also showed some symptoms of indigestion.

The lady made him lie flat and checked his vitals with first aid and supportive drugs. On arrival at the Hyderabad airport, he was transported in a wheelchair to the airport medical booth.

The lady who treated her co-passenger was the Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararjan who is a doctor by profession.

Later, she wrote a few suggestions for Indigo on Twitter. "Few suggestions for Indigo. First aid kits must be kept ready to use and contents must be verified daily. Doctors traveling on board can be notified on the travel chart as in railways to call SOS. 4 am, mid-air, I was awake to take the call. Your call may go unnoticed in sleepy hours.`` she wrote

She advised Indigo to impart Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) skills training to its crew on board to help the sick passengers. She even advised the citizens to take formal CPR training to be able to save others in case of emergencies.

In Conversation with Newsmeter, Ravi Chander Naik, one of the passengers on board the flight said all passengers were pleasantly surprised to see the governor seated as a commoner. "Usually when a politician is on the flight, there is a lot of security. But Madam Governor sat like any other common person," he said.

Hailing Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, . Naik said she is not like any other politician. "Other politicians would have requested the pilot to stop at the nearest airport etc. However, it is nice to see that the governor cared for the people and treated the patient midair," he said.