A few days ago I was returning home on a coast to coast flight. Apparently, some tomato juice splashed into the ice bin of the beverage cart, which contaminated my ice water and caused an allergic reaction. I have extremely severe reactions to tomatoes, and have had reactions bad enough to need to be intubated and/or shocked back into a normal sinus rhythm. The flight crew was awesome, and there happened to be not one, but three physicians on board, and between that and the medications I had with me (4 epipens, benadryll, albuterol), we were able to get me stable enough to keep the flight going, instead of diverting it to Dallas like they were prepared to do when the reaction first started.
So, they get me stable, clear my row and get me comfortable. Once the drama settled down, the flight crew began their second beverage service. A guy in the row in front of me asked for tomato juice. The flight attendant informed him that they would not be serving any tomato juice for the remainder of the flight, since that was the likeliest source of the medical emergency, and they didn't want to take any chances. Well you would have thought they just told him they were going to shove him out of the plane at 30,000 feet. This guy went absolutely ballistic, cursing and screaming and making all sorts of ruckus. The crew wouldn't back down, and and he eventually calmed down, but not before threatening to file a formal complaint against the crew. Gee, really? You can't have a particular kind of juice because it might kill the person in the row behind you, and they were doing everything they could to get us home instead of having to land at a different airport, so this ruins your flight? If I was able to breathe well, I'd have gotten up and punched him. Seriously, where are your priorities!
On the flip side, I can't say enough good things about the way the crew handled things. They were completely prepared to land the plane as soon as the trouble started, and did everything exactly right to keep me breathing. The doctors on board, who were just passengers themselves really helped, but I think the crew would have been a-ok even if they weren't there.
So, they get me stable, clear my row and get me comfortable. Once the drama settled down, the flight crew began their second beverage service. A guy in the row in front of me asked for tomato juice. The flight attendant informed him that they would not be serving any tomato juice for the remainder of the flight, since that was the likeliest source of the medical emergency, and they didn't want to take any chances. Well you would have thought they just told him they were going to shove him out of the plane at 30,000 feet. This guy went absolutely ballistic, cursing and screaming and making all sorts of ruckus. The crew wouldn't back down, and and he eventually calmed down, but not before threatening to file a formal complaint against the crew. Gee, really? You can't have a particular kind of juice because it might kill the person in the row behind you, and they were doing everything they could to get us home instead of having to land at a different airport, so this ruins your flight? If I was able to breathe well, I'd have gotten up and punched him. Seriously, where are your priorities!
On the flip side, I can't say enough good things about the way the crew handled things. They were completely prepared to land the plane as soon as the trouble started, and did everything exactly right to keep me breathing. The doctors on board, who were just passengers themselves really helped, but I think the crew would have been a-ok even if they weren't there.
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