So there I was, flying Delta from Detroit to Tokyo. I was seated near the isle next to a Japanese couple that appeared to be aged in their 60’s. They seemed very nice. The wife could say a few phrases in English. I, however, am near worthless in Japanese. I can count to 20 and say some martial arts terms. What little Japanese I can speak has all the pathetic accents that a decent American should have. Unless I’m going to tell her about my left or right side kick, we are going to need to do some Pictionary. About 7 hours into the flight, somewhere over Russia, the husband starts to have LOC changes. He looked like he was just about passed out. His eyes were glassy. His speech did not have the subtle staccato that ebbs and flows with Japanese. Whatever he was trying to say was slurred pretty badly. His wife looked scared – actually rather terrified. Either she had never seen him do this before, or recognized it as something really bad. We were seated near a galley and as luck would have it, a flight attendant was there. I told her what I knew and pointed to the man. She spoke to them in Japanese, but she was also clearly worried. The flight attendant told me she didn’t know what was going on. She was going to get another flight attendant that was “a medic”. I told her that I noticed where the O2 was stored. I would get it and bring it to the patient. The medic/other flight attendant was happy to see that the oxygen was on hand. I had only seen something similar one other time. Since flights are only pressurized to 8k feet, some people don’t get enough oxygen. I didn’t know this man’s medical or smoking history, so I had no idea if that was the cause. After a 1 minute evaluation by the medic/flight attendant, it was clear that the man was going to be OK. The Japanese flight attendant told me that the man was drunk. I told her that I have been sitting with them the entire time. He had only drank half of a beer. She told me that most Asians are “light weights” (her words, not mine). The man was returning from vacation and was topping it off with a drink. It appears that the man hardly ever drinks. That, combined with the altitude, turned him into a cheap date. His wife of almost 50 years has never seen him drunk before. The flight attendant thanked me for “my help”. I said “your welcome” and sorry if I made a scene. She then asked me if I wanted anything. I couldn’t help but repurpose a famous movie quote. “Yes”, I said. “I’ll have what he’s having”. Now I’m in Guam. After 30 hours traveling, I couldn’t wait to get to my hotel room. Only now, I can’t seem to sleep. Luckily, I don’t take the podium until tomorrow.
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 18:01:51 +0000
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