Dr. Oz tells Inside Edition he was alerted to the medical emergency by a tap on the shoulder from a flight attendant who recognized him from his television appearances and asked for his help.
Dr. Oz helped rescue a passenger who lost consciousness on a Jet Blue flight from New York City to Cabo, Mexico.
The famed physician was on his way to a friend’s wedding at a resort in Cabo. He says he was alerted to the medical emergency by a tap on the shoulder from a flight attendant who recognized him from his television appearances and asked for his help.
“This gentleman has passed out completely, unresponsive. His wife was next to him trying to support his head,” Dr. Oz tells Inside Edition.
Dr. Oz says there is an “ABC” of checks to make during medical emergencies: look at a person's airway, breathing and circulation.
“His airway and breathing were OK but his circulation wasn’t OK,” Dr. Oz says.
Dr. Oz says sugary orange juice helped revive the passenger, followed by oxygen.
“He looked at me and said, ‘Are you Dr. Oz,’” the TV doctor said. “I said, ‘I am a passenger on this plane with you, and thank goodness you recognize me because it means you’re beginning to wake up.’”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates medical emergencies occur on about one out of every 604 flights, with 10% of those instances diverted for severe cases such as cardiac arrest.
The incident on the Jet Blue flight is not the first time Dr. Oz stepped up in an emergency.
At an appearance at a mall in Florida, Dr. Oz ran up the stairs to come to the aid of a stricken woman. He also stepped in when a fellow runner collapsed during a 5K event in Salt Lake City. In New York City, Dr. Oz helped a woman who was accidentally hit by a taxi outside of his TV studio.
“It happens whenever we’re traveling, in the most unexpected places. You just have to have the confidence that you can help," Dr. Oz says.
