Hero nurse springs into action to help save man’s life on plane
Despite the stressful and unnerving situation she remained humorous, which I massively appreciated. I would like to say a huge thank you.
Sam Percival
A HERO Nuneaton nurse stepped in to help save a man’s life – all while thousands of feet in the air.
Dawn Downes, a theatre nurse at the George Eliot Hospital, answered a desperate call for help while on board a Jet2 flight from Alicante to Birmingham.
Sam Percival, aged 58, collapsed aboard the flight and a call for support from the captain led to mum Dawn, from Atherstone, stepping in.
She took vital sign observations, introduced an intravenous line and got the flight diverted to Nantes in France.
Mr Percival was then handed over to local medical staff and later made a full recovery in hospital.
Now back to full health, the Birmingham resident made a special visit to the ‘Eliot to thank the woman who saved his life.
Being reunited with him was a wonderful moment for Dawn, who said: “I was overjoyed to see Sam because the last time I saw him, he was being carried off the plane and he was in a bad way.”
Speaking about the dramatic plane journey in November, she said: “I heard the an-nouncement for support and I didn’t hesitate to offer my help. “We’re never off duty in the NHS. “The cabin crew were very professional and together we supported Sam until we could get on the ground and find him some urgent medical care.” Grateful Sam said: “On the flight I kept vomiting and trying to go to sleep. I had no idea what was going on. “Dawn said and did everything she could to keep me awake and despite the stressful and unnerving situation she remained humorous, which I massively appreciated.
“I would like to say a huge thank you to Dawn. She really was fantastic.”
A Jet2 spokesperson said: “At Jet2.com we pride ourselves on our fantastic customer service. “We are delighted that our highly trained crew were on hand to help Sam and would like to pass on our thanks to Dawn for her support during this flight. We’re pleased to hear that Sam is feeling much better and we hope to welcome him on one of our flights soon.”
Dawn has also received an official letter of thanks from the airline.