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One of the strongest assets of Pakistan is its huge pool of doctors. Students who become professionals, spend almost 8-10 years in becoming the people they are, the ones who serve humanity and are given God’s magic wand.
The biggest brain drain that occurs in Pakistan is also of doctors. Underpaid and unappreciated in the country, these doctors either move to the Middle East or places like Canada, US, where they are appreciated, paid more and held in very high regards.
One such Pakistani doctor got the opportunity to serve mankind, and also make a name for himself, 8000 ft above the ground. Pakistani Doctor Mehboob Hussain Malik was in his way from Dubai to Colombo in flight UL226. The doctor was sitting on his seat, passing his time, when he heard an announcement on the captain’s speaker.
The captain said that if there was a doctor aboard, could he please contact the cabin crew. A Yemeni man shivering a lot and was lying on the ground, while the cabin crew stood over him asking questions, trying to get his body to work.
«I introduced myself to the Chief of staff, she asked me for my ID and started to tell me about the condition of patient. I checked the ABCDE, The Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure (ABCDE), basic approach for medical emergency. Placed an Oxygen mask to help him breath, I started to maintain his temperature and covered him with blankets and took his temperature, blood pressure and Pulse regularly.
As according to aviation rules I was not authorized to prescribe medicine on board, so I had to treat him without medicine and wait to arrive at airport. Meanwhile, the arrangements were done on ground for emergency landing in case of some complications & on ground Ambulance and medical staff were in contact during the whole flight. Within 3 hours his situation was out of danger,» wrote Dr. Mehboob Hussain Malik on his Facebook page.
The crew and all the passengers on the airplane then thanked Dr. Mehboob for his services and professionalism, as there was no other doctor on the flight. Dr. Mehboob said it was something out of the ordinary, like it was a movie scene, deja vu which I had always expected, but never happened. He was just happy that he saved a life successfully.
When Dr. Mehboob reached the ground, he was in for in another surprise. Apart from the applause and love from the Sri Lankan airlines, Dr. Mehboob also got 15,000 miles of traveling as a gift from the airline, a sweet gesture.
