A passenger on a flight to Dubai on Wednesday was saved from death when a doctor on board rushed to treat her as she suffered a stroke.
The Arkia flight took off from Ben Gurion International Airport in the morning hours and shortly after the plane cleared Jordanian airspace, a female passenger complained to the crew that she was feeling unwell.
The cabin crew asked passengers if there was a doctor among them and to her great relief found Dr. Waseem Saeed, a pediatrician and neo-natal specialist.
Dr. Saeed conducted initial examinations on the woman, using the emergency medical equipment on board, which did not indicate a serious problem at first glance.
"I though the flight could continue, and that the woman was suffering from an anxiety attack," he said. "But after her condition appeared to deteriorate, I realized she was having a stroke and after consulting with the captain, we decided to return to Israel as soon as possible.
"In a stroke, the first hour, which we call the golden hour, is critical," Dr. Saeed said.
The doctor and his family were on their way to a holiday in Dubai after a challenging year at the Holy Family Hospital in Nazareth.
"The need to save a life is more important than any holiday plans," Dr. Saeed said. "This is what we do on a daily basis at the hospital and it always feels good when we succeed. I could not have imagined that I would find myself in such a situation on the way to Dubai. I hope the passenger feels better," he added.
Captain of the flight Eitam Hadar was in constant contact with the doctor throughout the ordeal.
"When the doctor diagnosed a stroke, we were over Saudi airspace and had two hours of flight time ahead of us and were one hour away from Ben Gurion Airport," Eitam said. "We flew as fast as possible and I took the plane down and prepared to land from the east directly in the direction of the designated gate where an ambulance was waiting."
Upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport, the woman was transferred to a hospital in stable condition.
The flight crew, which could no longer return to Dubai due to time constraints, was replaced by another crew, allowing the plane to take off once again to the UAE, where it landed safely a few hours later.