It happened 3 1/2 weeks ago aboard a United Airlines flight from Vancouver to San Francisco.
My wife and I, and my wife’s brother and his wife, were returning from a cruise in Alaska.
The airline was to make a stop in San Francisco before continuing on to Los Angeles. We all awoke at 3 a.m. to make sure we caught our 6 a.m. flight to San Francisco. My wife’s brother, partly in an effort not to have to use the bathroom, tried not to drink liquids the day before the flight. Not only that, he neglected to eat sufficiently.
One hour into our flight, 35,000 feet in the air, my brother-in-law got out of his seat, walked fifteen feet and collapsed on the floor in the aisle near our seats.
I heard my wife scream, “Is there a doctor on the plane?” The stewardess assisted him to his feet. Within seconds he again collapsed. This time it looked like he was down for the count. Suddenly a young woman in her twenties, wearing running tights and a headband, appeared out of nowhere. She announced that she was an EMT (emergency medical technician).
She took over assisting my brother-in-law, and did not leave him until he had recovered sufficiently forty-five minutes later.
Chatting with the EMT, she said she was a San Francisco irefighter. Her name was Brittney Blanco. I was so very proud of her and her immediate and dedicated actions to assist my brother-in-law.
What did I do in appreciation? I gave her the phone number of my son, an attorney in San Francisco, and told her that I was certain she could call him any time she had a legal question. I am so proud of my son and his talents that I thought that was a good first token of my appreciation.
I later called my son and explained what had happened. As expected, my son said he would be happy to assist Brittney with any questions she had. Upon returning home, I decided to write Brittney a letter thanking her again for her quick, professional, and sustained response. I enclosed a gift card in my letter. But I have not been satisfied with my tokens of thanks to this fine woman. Here I am, sitting at my computer this evening because I feel that my tokens of appreciation have been inadequate. What would I like to do for Brittney? I would like to give her a medal for her actions on that airplane.
That is why I am going to send this paper to the Chief of the San Francisco Fire Dept. Now maybe I will be able to sleep more peacefully, knowing that Brittney will, hopefully, receive some professional recognition of her actions on that Sunday, Aug. 12 flight. Thanks so much again, Brittney.
Mr. Ebsen may be contacted at robertebsen@hotmail.com.
