Multiple medical professionals work together to save unconscious passenger’s life on plane

An ICU nurse returning from a bachelorette party, an oncologist, a pediatric nurse practitioner, a prison nurse and a first responder combined forces to save the life of a man experiencing a medical emergency. The unconscious man was stabilized as the plane made an emergency landing.

A heartwarming and heroic story has emerged that finds several medical professionals – all strangers to each other – combing forces to save a man’s life. During a recent flight from Cancun, Mexico to Austin, Texas, a flight attendant had attempted to wake a male passenger. As luck would have it a nurse was sitting behind the unconscious man, and heard the flight attendant remark, “he’s got a pulse.”

Megan Sconzert was returning from a bachelorette party in Tulum and was fortuitously sitting behind the unconscious passenger. When it became apparent the man was having a medical emergency, the Austin-based intensive care unit (ICU) nurse stepped up to assist.

Sconzert, along with several other medical professionals, including an oncologist, a pediatric nurse practitioner, a prison & ER nurse, and a trained first responder, all answered the call and immediately began administering aid. Their first instinct was that the man may have been having an overdose. After rummaging through the man’s bag they identified several medications along with some unknown pills.

As a precautionary step, the group administered Narcan, the popular overdose drug. In a statement made to Texas news channel KXAN, Sconzert noted, “Too much Narcan isn’t going to do anything bad, per se, but definitely not enough Narcan will definitely be a lot worse.”

Even a fellow passenger without medical experience joined the effort when 23-year-old Sam Coon assisted by holding a phone functioning as a flashlight and other various medical instruments. Sconzert had this to say about Coon, “He held so many random objects that I handed him and stayed calm and collected the whole time.”

While the passenger was stabilized the American Airlines flight diverted to New Orleans where it was met by medical personnel before ultimately continuing on to its final destination. According to the KXAN report, the man is ok and was suffering from some sort of unnamed infection, and all medications were doctor-prescribed. The family also told the Texas news agency that if those passengers hadn’t stepped up, he might not have made it.

The Austin-based online journal Reform Austin shared this comment from Sconzert, “We wouldn’t have been successful in stabilizing this patient without the teamwork. I am eternally grateful that so many medical personnel were on this flight and sitting in such close proximity.”