Indian Origin Doctor Fashions Makeshift Inhaler Onboard Flight, Saves Asthmatic Toddler’s Life
How do you save the life of a 2 year old boy 30,000 feet above the Eart with nothing but the in-flight oxygen mask, a water bottle and a disposable cup? Ask Dr. Khurshid Guru from Kashmir! He saved the life of a 2-year-old boy who suffered an asthma attack onboard a transatlantic flight by creating a makeshift inhaler out of a cup and a bottle.
Dr Khurshid Guru, director of Robotic Surgery at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in New York, was aboard the Air Canada flight from Spain to the US on September 18 when he was notified of the toddler in trouble. The boy was crying and short of breath and his parents had accidentally packed his asthma medication in checked luggage, ABC News reported.
“The child had developed a cold. We were three or four hours into the flight. I think with the cold and popping of the ears and crying, he got worse,” said Guru. The child’s oxygen level was dipping to a dangerously low level. He needed oxygen but also asthma medication. However, the plane only had an adult inhaler on board, which would not be of much help, he said. Guru, who hails from J&K, came up with a jerry-rigged device similar to a nebuliser that would deliver both oxygen and asthma medication to the crying child.
He cut up a water bottle and added oxygen to one end and the adult inhaler through a small hole in the bottle. That way the oxygen and medication could be delivered through the bottle’s opening directly to the child. “As the bottle went near to the child’s face, he pushed it away. I got a water cup and made a hole in the bottle and focused it on his face … told [the parents] to keep it there. Within about half an hour and two treatments he was sounding much better,” Guru said.
After the very unusual treatment, the child’s oxygen level were at normal levels, he said. By the time the plane landed, the 2-year-old was playing with his mother.
While Dr. Guru tweeted about the mid-air ‘jugaad’ rescue operation back on Sep 18th..
The story went viral and Dr. Guru received tremendous praise once his tweet about the mid-air rescue went viral.
It is great to see doctors being life savers and creative regardless of where they are – on land, in war zones like the Syrian doctors or high up in the clouds like Dr. Guru! Regardless of the atrocities and negative press about attacks on doctors, they continue to impress, treat, encourage and inspire fellow medicos to be ‘better doctors’ everyday!
Enjoyed reading this news story? For MORE medical discussions,image cases, MCQs and medical news download the DAILY ROUNDS app for FREE! at App Store or Play Store
Original Post – Story Pick, India Times, First Post
Image Credits – Story Pick, India Times, First Post