At 1.30pm New Zealand time, somewhere over the Pacific on a Singapore Airlines flight from Christchurch to Singapore, the cabin crew made an announcement asking if there were any medical professionals on board.
Wu Jin Feng, a former Penang Hospital doctor now working in the private sector, and his wife Tan Pei Jun, a psychiatry specialist trainee who recently completed her membership exams with the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK, raised their hands and walked toward a man who had just opened his eyes.
He had been unconscious for two minutes.
What they were working with
As Lianhe Zaobao first reported, the couple examined the passenger and the numbers were alarming. His heart rate was sitting at just 38 beats per minute.
His blood oxygen had dropped to 88%. Around his tongue and lips, there was visible swelling. Red rashes had spread across his body. Classic signs of anaphylactic shock.
What made the situation significantly harder was that the passenger had a history of both stroke and heart disease.
And when Wu reached for one of the onboard medical tools, the stethoscope was not functioning properly.
The decision that changed everything
The couple started with what was available, administering intravenous fluids and oxygen. The passenger’s heart rate edged up to between 55 and 60 beats per minute, and his oxygen levels hovered between 88% and 92%.
Neither figure was safe. The risk of the man going into shock again was real.
Wu and Tan made the call to administer an adrenaline injection onboard. Gradually, the passenger’s condition began to stabilize.
The couple stayed with him throughout the remainder of the flight, maintaining communication with a ground medical team below while continuing to monitor his vitals.
The plane did not divert. It landed at Changi Airport as scheduled.
By the time they touched down, the passenger no longer needed oxygen support or intravenous fluids. He was conscious and breathing on his own.
He was handed over to the airport medical team at the gate. Wu and Tan, who had a connecting flight to catch, briefed the team on his condition and left.
Wu Jin Feng, who previously served at Penang Hospital and now works in the private sector, later revealed that this was not a one-off moment.
It was the third inflight medical emergency he had responded to in just 45 days, following incidents on a Kuala Lumpur to Istanbul flight on April 8 and an Auckland to Queenstown flight on May 6.
He noted that neither of those came close to the severity of what unfolded on the Christchurch flight.
Some people just keep showing up.
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