golfkat Travel Blog

On one of our first trips to SE Asia, we took China Airlines, and upgraded to Business Class.  After having a great trip to Bangkok, getting clothes made at a custom tailor, getting married at the Temple of Dawn, and having dinner at the Normandy at the Oriental Hotel, we headed home.  Our flight left Bangkok in the late afternoon, and headed to Taipei where we had to change planes.
 
Everything was fine until we got closer to Taiwan.  The pilot said the fog at the Taipei airport was really bad, and we had no option but to sit it out in Hong Kong.  So, we landed at the new Hong Kong airport.  Sheri became friendly with one of the flight attendants earlier on the flight.  Her name was Amy, and she lived in Hong Kong.  She was so nice.  Later, when we found out that we had to de-plane and stay at a hotel in Hong Kong, she offered to have us stay at her house.
 
In the interim, we are now sitting in the plane, on the tarmac, with the door open for some fresh air.  It is also foggy in Hong Kong, but I guess they have better ground equipment or radar than Taiwan.  Sheri starts to show Amy our digital photos of our trip to Rio de Janeiro.  They become quite chummy, trade addresses, and are passing the time while having some fun.  I guess they must have been serving alcohol while we were on the ground as well.
 
About an hour or so later, the pilot comes on the PA, and asks if there is a physician on board.  Sheri raises her hand, and Amy automatically thinks she is a physician.  The whole crew got excited, as nobody else volunteered.  But Sheri explained that she was not, but that I am a Pharmacist, and I have been trained in first aid, CPR, AED, and basket weaving.  This was not my idea of fun. 
 
The pilot was imploring us for help.  They said the man was unconscious and dying, that his breathing had stopped.  So, Amy comes over to me and begs me to help.  Fortunately, I was talking to the American guy behind me, who was a medic in the army.  We decided together, that we would only take a look, and call 911 or their equivalent if he was still alive.
 
So, we walk back to the last row of the plane, with an entourage of flight attendants, co-pilots, and paparazzi.  A 90 year old Chinese man is slumped over in the aisle seat in the last row of the 747.  He appears to be dead, just as the flight attendant had screamed.  I looked for a pulse, and Bill, the medic, was checking to see if he was breathing.  I could not get a pulse, and Bill said he could not discern a breath.  So, we traded, and I did sense a very shallow, irregular breath, but little or no pulse.
 
As my great scientific training has done, I investigated a little further.  I smelled the man’s breath to see if he was diabetic or asthmatic. AHAAAAA!!!!  I discovered the problem.  It was booze on his breath.  He was passed out, and very pale and warm due to the heavy alcohol.  I asked for the oxygen mask to drop down for him.  We connected it, and in a matter of seconds, he awakened, and wondered what the fuss was all about.  Needless to say, I was relieved that I would not have to take him to a nearby hospital.
 
So, due to our courageous actions, and the HUGE language barrier, the flight attendants think that we saved his life!!!!  As we walk back up to Business Class, everybody is cheering and clapping.  We are the great American heroes.  We have double-handedly saved the image of every obnoxious American who has traveled abroad.  We are probably going to get the Hong Kong Medal of Honor.  But, I am totally embarrassed by this.  We really did nothing but revive a drunk.  When I asked how much he had been drinking, they showed me a large glass full of cognac.  How does a 90 year old man get about 4 ounces of cognac on a couple hour flight?
 
So, comfortably back in Business, we are surrounded by the adoring flight attendants.  Amy takes my name so that China Airlines can send me some kind of recognition.  I just want to either continue the flight home to San Francisco, or get some rest in a Hong Kong Hotel.  It is time for Superman, and Tonto to get some rest.
 
It was all downhill from there.  We ended up in a fleabag hotel in Hong Kong, bussed over and back by China Airlines.  The best part of the story is this:  we got to the airport early the next morning.  The China Airline people put us on Singapore Airlines, the Holy Grail of all airlines.  We got to fly Singapore back to SFO in Business Class.  It was the best flight of our lives.  Meanwhile, Sheri disputes the account of this event.  She says she did not volunteer me, and I say she did.  We are still looking for Amy to tell us who is right.