Sunwing flight attendant says she saved passenger's life mid-air as pilot made emergency landing in Toronto
A Sunwing flight attendant saved a passenger's life who went into cardiac arrest as a pilot made an emergency landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport this week.
“Her heart stopped,” Marisa Rodrigues, a flight attendant of 18 years, told CTV News Toronto.
On Tuesday, Rodrigues was preparing for a standard landing of a Sunwing flight from Cancun to Toronto while on duty as the Cabin Safety Manager (CSM).
Then, a call light flashed a few times near the middle of the plane. As she got closer, she saw a woman having a seizure. Her body was in full convulsion.
“I noticed that her fingers and around her mouth and face started to turn blue and purple and her face was gray,” Rodrigues said.
“I had to take her from her seat, put her down on the seat, lay her down and start CPR immediately.”
Sunwing confirmed that a passenger was in medical distress on the flight from Cancun to Toronto on Tuesday.
“The crew immediately attended to the affected passenger, along with a nurse and medical student on board the flight, and the Sunwing Airlines Cabin Safety Manager on duty, Marisa Rodrigues, conducted chest compressions on the passenger as the flight crew declared a medical emergency and the aircraft prepared for its descent into Toronto,” a Sunwing spokesperson told CTV News Toronto on Thursday.
Together with a nurse and medical school student who responded to the call, they lifted the woman from her seat and laid her down on the floor of the plane.
Rodrigues positioned the woman’s head between her legs and proceeded to push air into her lungs before they placed oxygen and an automated external defibrillator (AED) on the passenger.
“As that was being placed on…we realized that she had a heartbeat…it was very, very shallow and very, very low,” she said.
But, Rodrigues added, “She came through.”
As the plane approached Pearson Airport, the captain declared a medical emergency landing in order to push to the front of the line of aircraft arriving at the airport.
“Because of the time frame that it happened, we didn't need to divert anywhere,” she said.
Sunwing confirmed that paramedics then met the aircraft upon arrival in Toronto to provide further medical attention to the passenger.
“We are extremely grateful for the quick thinking, care and attention provided by our cabin crew, led by CSM Marisa Rodrigues, and the other passengers who assisted during a stressful situation while remaining focused and calm,” the airline said in a statement.
“I’m trying to hold back tears,” Rodrigues said.
It was the first time in 18 years she had ever done compressions on a passenger. She said medical episodes have happened with travellers fainting and facing anxiety.
“But nothing to this extent, ever.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.