PIO doc helps deliver baby at 35,000 feet
New York: An off-duty Indian-origin doctor had an “oh boy” story when he helped deliver a healthy baby boy while on a trans-Atlantic flight from Paris to New York at 35,000 feet, according to media reports.
Dr Sij Hemal, 27 a second year urology resident at Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, went into doctor mode when on December 17 Air France flight attendants asked if there were any doctors on the flight. A 41-year-old had gone into labour a week early, local media reported.
Together with Dr Stefanie Ortolan, a paediatrician from France, Hemal delivered baby Jake after 30 minutes of pushing, Hemal said.
“As a urologist, I was excited. I thought it was kidney stones, but later found out that she was 39 weeks pregnant,” he said. Hemal said there was no time to land the plane and the best decision was to deliver the baby in the air. Hemal used a shoestring to tie and cut the umbilical cord for baby Jake. “This has been a team effort and certainly a flight I will never forget,” he said. Although Hemal’s practice area is urology, he delivered seven babies during medical school. “I just tried... to come up with a creative solution,” he said.
Air France gifted a travel voucher and a bottle of champagne to Hemal. PTI
New York: An off-duty Indian-origin doctor had an “oh boy” story when he helped deliver a healthy baby boy while on a trans-Atlantic flight from Paris to New York at 35,000 feet, according to media reports.
Dr Sij Hemal, 27 a second year urology resident at Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, went into doctor mode when on December 17 Air France flight attendants asked if there were any doctors on the flight. A 41-year-old had gone into labour a week early, local media reported.
Together with Dr Stefanie Ortolan, a paediatrician from France, Hemal delivered baby Jake after 30 minutes of pushing, Hemal said.
“As a urologist, I was excited. I thought it was kidney stones, but later found out that she was 39 weeks pregnant,” he said. Hemal said there was no time to land the plane and the best decision was to deliver the baby in the air. Hemal used a shoestring to tie and cut the umbilical cord for baby Jake. “This has been a team effort and certainly a flight I will never forget,” he said. Although Hemal’s practice area is urology, he delivered seven babies during medical school. “I just tried... to come up with a creative solution,” he said.
Air France gifted a travel voucher and a bottle of champagne to Hemal. PTI
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