A young doctor was just two hours into a long-haul flight, when an urgent announcement came over the intercom about a passenger in distress.
Alyssa Van den Broeck, 27, a resident doctor working in intensive care, is originally from the United Kingdom and now resides in Australia.
Earlier this month she boarded an 11-hour South African Airways flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, in anticipation of connecting to Cape Town—but two hours in, while the plane was thousands of feet over the Indian Ocean, a call came over the intercom, asking if there was a doctor on board.
“I initially hesitated,” she admitted to Newsweek. “This was the first time I’d ever been in that situation on a flight, and I wasn’t sure if someone more senior, like an A+E registrar, might come forward.”
Instagram @aly_vdbroeck
But when there was “no response,” Van den Broeck ignored the wave of “adrenaline and uncertainty” and introduced herself, where she was brought to a passenger in distress, who was with crew in the catering section.
She found a passenger who was “hyperventilating” and experiencing a panic attack, and while stewards were caring for her using cannister oxygen, “everyone was pretty stressed,” she said.
“Once I reached the passenger, my training kicked in and I just focused on what needed to be done.”
The doctor introduced herself to the patient, and, using the onboard medical kit and vagus nerve exercises, “assessed their airway breathing and circulation in the A-E approach,” used in emergency medicine and referring to checking airway, breathing, circulation, disability and exposure.
She managed to stabilize the patient enough to take in their history—but revealed “at one point, we had to seriously consider turning the plane around, as we were nearing the point of no return over the ocean.
“Thankfully, with treatment and monitoring, the patient improved enough for the flight to continue safely.”
Van den Broeck said she was able to “fall back on the basics” to successfully treat the passenger, and said her “previous experience in ICU and A&E definitely helped me stay composed under pressure whilst I was running through differentials.”
And, once the passenger had been stabilized, both she and Van den Broeck were upgraded to business class for the rest of the flight, to give the passenger “a quieter place to rest and recover,” and for Van den Broeck to be able to keep an eye on her.
“I stayed next to her in business class and checked on her several times during the rest of the flight as she did have repeat episodes, so I didn’t get much sleep or make full use of the upgrade,” Van den Broeck said. “But I really appreciated the crew’s thoughtfulness—it was a kind gesture, and I was happy to be nearby in case anything changed.
She shared the story to her Instagram account @aly_vdbroeck on May 9, showing her in her newly-upgraded seat, with plenty of leg room, a bottle of water and a book, smiling at the camera, and wrote in the caption: “I glance around thinking surely some big shot a&e consultant would be on board like in the movies. Two minutes later it repeats (cue spike in adrenaline)…
“Lesson learned: medicine doesn’t necessarily clock off just because we do—even at 38,000 ft in loungewear.”
She added: “Extra leg-room never felt so earned!”
Instagram users hugely praised Van den Broeck, awarding the video close to 6000 likes, as one user commented: “You are an angel above the sky.”
“Coming from a flight attendant: thank you! It’s always nice to now we have someone qualified on board,” another user said, as one shared their own story, of their five-year-old having a medical emergency on board, and wrote: “We once needed an in-flight doctor so thank you so very much.”
Van den Broeck called the experience “incredibly rewarding,” explaining: “There’s something very different about being the only medical professional in a setting like that—it really puts things into perspective and you just feel privileged to be able to help someone.
“I didn’t do it for the rewards, that wasn’t even on my radar, I just knew I had to help. I was grateful to be there and to keep the situation under control and to reassure the staff and patient.”
Newsweek reached out to South African Airways for comment.
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