Mumbai:
Until a few weeks ago, Dr Rahul Gujar was just another doctor, but everything changed for him on February 24 when he saved the life of 36-year-old Sunil Kumar 10,000 feet above sea level on a Hong Kong flight returning to the city.
In the early hours of February 24, when the pilot of Cathay Pacific flight-CX 709 announced if there was a doctor on flight, Dr Gujar made his way to the seats ahead and saw Kumar had fallen unconscious.
"I immediately checked his pulse and examined him. I suspected some internal bleeding. I asked the crew members to fetch me the emergency medical box and put him (Kumar) on an IV-drip and performed Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)," said Gujar, a gynaecologist at St Elizabeth Hospital in Malabar Hill, Mumbai.
Kumar almost immediately regained consciousness after CPR was conducted on him.
However, for Dr Gujar, the next worry was getting Kumar hospitalised.
"When the pilot informed me that we would not be landing for another two-and-a half-hours, I knew it would be too long a time and requested the pilot for an emergency landing."
The pilot made an emergency landing at Chennai airport, which was only an hour away. "Once the flight landed in Chennai, a team of doctors from the airport authority of India took over," added Gujar.
Dr Gujar said that during the situation, he noticed that several passengers were nervous and were praying for a miracle. "Even though we diverted from Mumbai to Chennai, there were no complaints from the passengers. In fact, they prayed for Kumar's survival."
An eyewitness to the entire episode, Vidya Sadre (56), a fellow passenger, recalled, "Dr Rahul single-handedly managed Kumar very well. Everyone in the flight was gripped by fear seeing Kumar's condition. When we saw this young man (Kumar) vomiting blood, we were taken aback but Dr Gujar helped him regain consciousness."
"After I saved Kumar's life, crewmembers and passengers heaved a sigh of relief and personally thanked me. The flight officials upgraded me to the business class and gifted me a bottle of champagne to show their gratitude," said Dr Gujar.
However, Dr Gujar added that he did not even think of all the praise he would receive when he was helping Kumar. The modest doctor belonging to a village near Shirdi said that he only helped Kumar to uphold his Hippocratic oath.
"Saving Kumar's life was special to me as he wasn't even my patient and I had no knowledge of his medical history. Kumar's wife later called to thank me for saving the only earning member of the family, which really moved me, added Dr Gujar.
Confirming the incident, Rakesh Raicar, sales and marketing manager, Cathay Pacific, said, "The Cathay Pacific flight CX709 on February 24 from Hong Kong to Mumbai was diverted because of a sick passenger onboard.
The flight was diverted to Chennai, so that the passenger could receive medical attention. All our crew is trained to handle all sorts of situation in flight including medical cases."