Patrick Garner, R.N.

Patrick Garner is an R.N. who has worked for NorthBay Healthcare for more than 20 years and has been an avid cyclist for more than 30 years. He is experienced in multiple aspects of cycling, such as bike commuting, road riding, touring and mountain biking. He has been involved in organizing events such as bicycle races, centuries and bike tours and is the Captain of Team NorthBay.

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Always a Nurse, Even on Vacation

September 16, 2015
 

After a recent cycling vacation in Italy, I returned on a flight from Frankfurt to Seattle. I was looking forward to my premium seat with leg room. Nobody was sitting next to me and it looked like I was going to have a very comfortable, quiet trip home.  

But 90 minutes into the flight, there was a page for medical assistance. When I looked, I saw that quite a few people were huddled around a passenger. The flight attendant said a registered nurse had stepped up and was helping with the patient, so I stood back.

A little later I checked and saw that the passenger was standing in the aisle and the flight attendants could not get past to begin their duties. I introduced myself to the nurse and suggested that we move the passenger to my extra seat.  

The volunteer was a pediatric nurse and had only been licensed for a handful of years. Since I have nearly 30 years of experience, we decided I should be the primary caregiver.

The passenger (now my patient) was a 60-year-old teacher with a very distended abdomen with severe abdominal and back pain. She had been constipated for her entire trip and had not seen anybody for it, possibly because of religious beliefs.

After completing an assessment, the chief of the flight crew told us that in one hour we would pass the last airport where we could land before we began flying over the Atlantic and then Greenland and then over Northern Canada. After that, the next airport would be Edmonton, which would be six hours later. 

There was a conversation over the radio with a physician. It was decided it was safe to continue on to Seattle. The doctor asked that we try to give some medication orally, which the patient was unable to tolerate. A suppository allowed the patient to rest for a short time.

But soon, she began to complain of difficulty breathing, and her vital signs became worrisome. I placed her on oxygen mask, strapping the small bottle to my person for safety. Unfortunately the first bottle of oxygen lasted only 40 minutes. I tried to make the second bottle last longer with little success. There were only eight bottles on the plane and two of those were attached to the emergency system in case of decompression.  

I weaned her off oxygen and made do with fanning her for the last hour of the flight. 

Besides assessing her condition, I focused on trying to make her comfortable, and assisted her in switching between standing and sitting and elevating her feet, which were swollen. For much of the time I simply held her hand.  

During our approach and landing, she thanked me for saving her life. I told her I was just glad that I did not have to save her life…I was pretty concerned for a time. 

A fire truck and a paramedic crew was waiting for us at the gate and my patient was quickly taken off the plane after I gave a brief report. 

I didn't think about using the Four Cs of the NorthBay Way during the flight, because they came automatically. I did what I did out of Caring for the individual who was suffering and also in Caring for the flight crew and passengers of the plane. Collaboration and Communication with my fellow nurse and the flight crew were key in meeting the goal. I had to have confidence in my Competence. I knew I had the skills and experience to make the correct decision and provide the necessary care during this long flight across the Atlantic Ocean, Greenland and Northern Canada. 

I received a number of thanks from some of the passengers as we stood in line for customs. One person asked me if I felt like a hero. 

I simply replied, "No, I feel like a nurse."

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