Ever experience a delay in your flight due to another passenger’s medical emergency?As a travel writer, with my share of Frequent Flyer miles, I’ve observed this situation a handful of times and, of course, with a mild amount of irritation at the inconvenience. I’ll never let that negativity creep up again, however, as my husband was the emergency this time.It was just intended to be a short hop on a Delta flight to New York from Orlando for some holiday cheer in Manhattan, our favorite place to visit this time of year. We did some extensive traveling a couple of months prior, winding up in Japan, with not an inkling of health issues, even on those long flights. My husband had a nasty head cold leading up to this trip but felt he was in good enough shape to travel and not contagious. Little did we know our luggage would wind up in JFK but we wouldn’t make it out of MCO.It was an early flight so we didn’t follow our usual morning routine and blew off breakfast and coffee, figuring we’d get something at the airport. Neither of us felt like eating so we just got on the plane and settled in just like we have so many times before. The doors were latched and the emergency instructions were rattled off as we were about to leave the gate.I glanced over at my husband and he didn’t look right. He said he was nauseated, all of a sudden, and felt like he was going to need a “barf bag.” I didn’t see one in the seat-back pockets, so I stood up to try to locate one. Of course, the flight attendant started heading down the aisle towards me as no one was supposed to be out of their seat at that moment.When I glanced back at my husband, I realized he was slumped over, unconscious. It was surreal standing in a plane, on one hand realizing I was breaking all the flight rules but having no choice as my husband could be in serious trouble.To their merit, Delta’s flight attendants jumped into action, enabling an oxygen mask, grabbing an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) if needed, while asking if there were medical personnel on board. Immediately three nurses popped up and got right to work checking his pulse, laying him down across the seat and applying a cool compress to his forehead. After what seemed like the proverbial eternity, he did regain consciousness and the EMT’s were on board checking his vitals, then whisking him off the plane.Due to the early hour, the terminal was eerily empty as the first responders made sure my husband was not in immediate danger. His blood pressure had dropped to an alarming level but was on its way back to normal. He was slowly regaining his color and responding correctly to questions.As all of this was unfolding, I was constantly aware that Delta personnel had my back, checking to see if we were residents of Orlando or visitors, needing further assistance, and assuring us our luggage would find its way home. (Of course, that was the least of my worries at the time.)What happened to us only happens to other people – isn’t that what we all say? We’re healthy, active, albeit older, travelers who know our limits but refuse to let our advancing years hold us back. After a couple of days of testing in hospital, nothing life-threatening was found, other than a possible dehydration issue causing blood pressure to plummet at that particular time in the universe.The plane was seconds from actually pulling away from the gate so we can be thankful that the incident happened before we were in the air.Our fellow passengers offered sympathetic comments as I trudged down the aisle behind the EMT’s and my groggy husband. The crew stood at the door offering their condolences and best wishes as we stepped off. Later, we found out the flight was delayed forty minutes, which could have caused missed connections. In the future, we will be much more tolerant and empathetic as to the reasons for these delays.Delta has, graciously, agreed to let us use our tickets within a year, without penalty, and we’re grateful for that. Travel Insurance, however, might be a good idea in the future, now that we’ve been stung by the realization that, yes, stuff happens, and we should be prepared for the unthinkable. Next time we are in a New York state of mind, however, we won’t skip breakfast! Let's block ads! (Why?)