Cover image via Boo Chin Fong (Facebook)Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp for the latest stories and breaking news.
A Malaysian doctor couple sprang into action mid-air after a passenger on a Singapore Airlines flight from Christchurch to Singapore suffered a severe allergic reaction
Their quick intervention helped stabilise the man and prevented the plane from making an emergency diversion.
Speaking to Mothership, Dr Boo Chin Fong and Dr Tan Pei Jun, both 34, said they were on the 10-hour flight home after a family holiday in New Zealand with their 5-year-old son.
Less than two hours into the journey, cabin crew announced a medical emergency and asked if any medical professionals were onboard, and the couple responded
Dr Boo later said he initially expected the situation to be minor, especially after he had already assisted in two in-flight emergencies over the past 45 days.
But when they reached the passenger — a man in his fifties — he had been unconscious for two minutes.
The doctors quickly assessed him and found that his heart rate had dropped to 38 beats per minute, while his oxygen saturation had fallen to 88%.
Although the passenger had started regaining consciousness by then, he was struggling to speak. His lips and tongue were swollen, and there were red rashes across his body.
Dr Boo said the symptoms strongly suggested anaphylactic shock, but the man's medical history complicated the treatment
According to the passenger's wife, he had recently recovered from a stroke and had a hole in his heart.
This made the decision to administer an EpiPen (an emergency injection for anaphylaxis) more difficult.
Dr Boo explained that, with a history of heart issues and no known allergies, using an EpiPen could be dangerous if the passenger was actually suffering a heart attack rather than an allergic reaction.
The situation was made harder by the limited medical equipment onboard, and neither doctor regularly handles emergency resuscitation in their current roles. Dr Tan is a psychiatric trainee medical officer at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, while Dr Boo works as a risk manager at Penang General Hospital.
Still, as the passenger's breathing and swelling worsened, the couple decided that delaying treatment posed the greater risk.
They administered the EpiPen, and the passenger gradually improved
"Limited equipment onboard and a non-functional stethoscope. Merely clinical judgement," Dr Boo wrote in a Facebook post after the incident.
"IV drip set. Oxygen mask on. EpiPen given. Patient condition stabilised. No diversion needed," he added.
The couple continued monitoring the passenger for the rest of the flight. Upon landing at Changi Airport, the man was handed over to the airport's medical team for further treatment.
In his Facebook post, Dr Boo said he was grateful to have his wife by his side during the emergency, as it was the first time they had worked together to handle a medical case in six years.
He also clarified that photos taken during the incident were not for keepsakes, but to document the exact time the medication was administered in case complications arose later.
"Not too bad to work together with wife after six years. Our resuscitation skills didn't get that rusty. A memorable ending to our NZ trip," he said.
