Delray doctor saves girl on Mexico-bound flight
Vascular surgeon revives 9-year-old seizure victim.
BOCA RATON — What began as a routine flight for a family vacation to Mexico turned into anything but routine Monday for Delray Beach surgeon Joseph Ricotta.
Midway through the flight from Atlanta to Cabo San Lucas, Ricotta found himself rushing to the aid of a 9-year-old girl who had suffered a seizure.
Ricotta, 46, began CPR and was able to revive the girl moments after she fell unconscious.
“She was on the floor in the aisle,” he said. “They asked for a doctor on board, and I ran up to her. I resuscitated her and we got her back.”
After reviving the girl, Ricotta put on a headset and began communicating with the pilot and air-traffic controllers about whether the pilot should make an emergency landing.
Ricotta said the girl steadily showed improvement, drinking apple juice and eating crackers as he tended to her, and he advised the flight crew to continue. The girl was able to walk away with a family member when the plane reached its destination.
“I was very happy and thankful that the little girl did well,” Ricotta, a Boca Raton resident, said by phone Friday from Mexico, where he was vacationing with his wife and their three children. “The other passengers were very helpful.”
The airline released a brief statement regarding the incident Friday.
“Delta thanks our customers who assisted during a medical situation that occurred on board Flight 389 from Atlanta to San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. Safety of our customers and crew is our top priority.”
Ricotta is a vascular surgeon and an endovascular therapy specialist with Tenet Florida Cardiovascular Care. He also is a professor of surgery at Florida Atlantic University. He moved to South Florida about 18 months ago from Atlanta, where he previously had practiced medicine.
Monday’s incident was not the first time Ricotta has found himself reacting to an emergency situation in public. In 2015, he was attending an Atlanta Braves game at Turner Field when a man fell from the upper deck into the lower-level stands, one section away from where Ricotta and his two sons were seated.
Ricotta performed CPR on the man until paramedics arrived.
Gregory Murrey, 60, of Alpharetta, Georgia later died at a hospital.
Ricotta said instinct kicked in during both situations.
“To be honest, any physician is trained to react this way,” he said. “Your adrenaline (is going) and it’s sort of automatic. You do what you know.”