Quick thinking plus empathy by NFL star Mark Andrews proved to be a pivotal combination onboard a Southwest Airlines flight and just may have saved the life of a woman in distress onboard.
NFL Star Mark Andrews Saves The Day On Southwest Airlines
I do not follow American football (or any sport for that matter), but greatly laud the physical discipline it takes to make it in the big leagues. That said, I’ve interacted and worked with a fair number of successful athletes at Award Expert and many have been downright self-entitled (and I suppose that happens when you are paid millions of dollars a year to handle a ball). Some are downright rude and self-centered. But it appears that Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews is not one of those athletes.
Andrews was on a Southwest flight from Baltimore (BWI) to Phoenix (PHX) where a female passenger suddenly became critically ill (dangerously low blood pressure and weak pulse).
Volunteer medical professionals onboard attempted to stabilize her with oxygen, but her heart rate remained unstable. Enter Andrews.
Andrews suffers from diabetes and suggested perhaps this woman’s trouble might be linked to her blood sugar levels. The doctor and nurse used his test kit…though we don’t know if she actually had low blood sugar.
We do know she was stabilized to the point that the flight did not need to divert.
Andrews never tooted his own horn, but another passenger onboard who witnessed the incident posted the following account on X:
A woman on my @southwest flight from Baltimore to Phoenix this morning had a mid-flight medical emergency. The doctor and nurse attending to her couldn’t find a strong pulse, her blood pressure was extremely low, and required oxygen to breathe. It was genuinely scary. (1/3)
— Andrew Springs (@NaturalSprings) February 1, 2024
Paramedics met the flight as soon as we landed. Andrews deplaned quietly. No fanfare. As he has done his whole career, he stepped up in a huge moment when people needed him most.
Watching complete strangers spring into action to help save someone’s life is truly amazing. (3/3)
— Andrew Springs (@NaturalSprings) February 1, 2024
That is the moral of the story. Sure, it was probably the oxygen that ultimately stabilized the woman, but this was quick thinking, empathy, and a rare degree of care displayed on an airplane. I’ve never heard of Andrews before today, but my impression of him now is quite favorable.
People may not need a backseat doctor as much as they need a backseat driver, but it sounds like he was quite helpful in this particular situation. Asked about, Andrews later said:
In addition to the fast-acting flight attendants, the real heroes are the nurse and doctor who also happened to be on the plane. Thankfully they were able to provide the woman the quick assistance she needed.
Well done Mr. Andrews!
(image: @mandrews / Instagram // Hat Tip: View From The Wing)
Good on all the people that came forward to assist a passenger in trouble. Andrews appears to be a compassionate, well grounded athlete.
Wishing the passenger a quick recovery.
No one is gonna ask what a multimillionaire was doing flying SW?
A-list drink vouchers!
As @Maryland noted…just being a well grounded athlete. Not every millionaire needs to fly F