A doctor couple from Mohali, Punjab – Navdeep Kaur and her husband Damandeep – together with three other AIIMS doctors, who happened to be on the Bengaluru-Delhi Vistara flight, instantly formed a team to administer critical care to the child and resuscitated her after the crew announced an SOS
New Delhi: In what can be termed as a rare miracle, a two-year infant girl was bought back to life. What is even more heartwarming is how fate played a pivotal role to ensure that a fragile life is not snuffed out before its time. What a coincidence, perhaps, more likely the sure and certain hand of Providence, that there were five AIIMS doctors on board the Bengaluru-Delhi Vistara flight on Monday, August 28, who saved the child like Guardian Angels, after she stopped breathing and suffered a massive cardiac arrest, a special report by Aditi Tandon in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says
The Five AIIMS doctors were returning from a conference of the Indian Society for Vascular and Interventional Radiology, happened to be on the same Bengaluru to Delhi Vistara flight. They instantly formed a team to administer critical care to the child and resuscitated her after the crew announced an SOS.
“It was a two year old cyanotic female child who had undergone a cardiac operation some 20 days ago. When we heard the distress call on board the child was already unconscious, totally pulse-less and centrally cyanosed which means her skin, tongue, and mucous membranes had gone blue due to lack of oxygen.
Navdeep Kaur from AIIMS anaesthesia department, who led the life-saving procedure, told The Tribune there were multiple challenges starting with resuscitating the infant,”
Navdeep and her husband Damandeep Singh, currently pursuing higher specialization courses in cardiac radiology from AIIMS New Delhi, were part of the team that worked on the child. They hail from Punjab’s Mohali.
While Navdeep did her MBBS from Government Medical College Patiala and MD from PGI Chandigarh, Damandeep studied at AIIMS New Delhi and PGI Chandigarh. They were accompanied in their mission of mercy by Rishab Jain, former senior resident at AIIMS Radiology; Oishika, a senior resident, obstetrics and gynaecology at AIIMS and Avichala Taxak, senior resident from cardiac radiology.
Navdeep said the child was placed on the floor at the back of the plane to ensure proper chest compressions; her airway was secured using an adult mask which happened to be available on board and later an IV line was also secured. In addition an oxygen cylinder was also available on board.
The emergency response protocol then kicked off under the care of five AIIMS medics.
The top challenge was to ensure proper oxygen to the child.
“The oxygen in the airplane was 21% but the child needed 95%. A long resuscitation process ensued. But that was not all. The infant also suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. Somehow a paediatric cannula was available on the aircraft and we secured an IV line which enabled administration of adrenaline as per the resuscitation protocol.
To prevent cardiac arrest, we used an automated external defibrillator which was there in the airplane’s emergency kit. After the entire procedure the child started breathing again,” Navdeep explained, adding that maintaining a child’s airway on a moving plane was “extremely tough”.
Navdeep said the child was placed on the floor at the back of the plane to ensure proper chest compressions; her airway was secured using an adult mask which happened to be available on board and later an IV line was also secured. In addition an oxygen cylinder was also available on board.
In the meanwhile, the flight was diverted to Nagpur and the child placed under medical observation.
”She is safe. I have followed up,” said Navdeep Kaur.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya congratulated the doctors for their “heroic efforts to save a life on the flight”.
“Your inspiring act has shown why doctors are called second to God on earth,” said Mandaviya. (Rewrite by David Solomon)
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