United Hatzalah volunteer and aviation physician Dr. David Ungar saved a 70-year-old diabetic who began to lose consciousness on an El Al flight from Bulgaria to Tel Aviv on Tuesday, United Hatzalah said on Thursday.
Flight attendants noticed that an elderly passenger had lost consciousness and required immediate medical assistance.
Ungar regularly accompanies ill patients on flights, so he had developed a rapport with the crew prior to the emergency, the United Hatzalah spokesperson reported.
Flight attendants quickly informed Ungar of the emergency. He found the passenger barely conscious and sweating profusely as he sat slumped in his seat. The passenger managed to inform the doctor that he was diabetic.
Suspecting low blood sugar, Ungar asked for the onboard doctor's kit, a standardized medical kit equipped with medical tools and medications for in-flight emergencies.
Raising his blood sugar
Ungar gave the man some honey in order to raise his blood sugar levels.
The medical kit arrived, giving the doctor the ability to check his blood sugar levels. Dr. Ungar observed the man's blood sugar levels had risen, which provided some reassurance, but he remained cognizant that the danger had not completely passed. The man's blood sugar was not the only issue, his blood pressure was low as was his blood saturation.
His breathing became shallow and he lost consciousness again. Ungar moved quickly, enlisting the help of a fellow passenger to move the unconscious man to the floor and elevate his legs.
The doctor connected him to oxygen, opened an IV line, and administered fluids to the man, who slowly regained consciousness.
Due to the man's unstable condition, Ungar recommended that the plane make an emergency landing at the nearest airport.
With the man unable to return to his seat, the doctor sat with the flight attendants in order to keep an eye on his condition.
After landing at Rhodes International Airport, emergency crews quickly boarded the plane and took the man to a nearby hospital for treatment where his condition stabilized.
"I'm blessed to have been in the right place at the right time," Ungar said later about his life-saving work.