In what was a very eventful way to kick off a 10-day vacation to Greece, two medical students have made a name for themselves before even graduating from Medical School.
For Lauren Bagneris and Heather Duplessis, long-time friends since being undergrads in the Louisiana State University MD/Master of Public Health programme, working together comes naturally, just not on aeroplanes.
The girls were enjoying a seemingly simple plane trip when a medical emergency changed their lives.
After leaving New Orleans for the first leg of their journey, the friends were sitting near the back of the plane when Bagneris’s sister, also on the trip, saw another passenger fall.
According to a post on The LSU Health Sciences Centre Facebook page, a call went out on the plane asking for medical professionals.
“We waited for a second to make sure no actual medical professionals were around to respond,” said Duplessis, 25. “When no one responded, that’s when we identified ourselves as med students. They said they could use our help."
The same post read that 'a passenger who had overheated and was suffering from low blood sugar had gotten lightheaded and fallen down.'
Bagneris stated they conducted a history assessment, found out what the passenger had been doing that morning and asked about pre-existing medical conditions. Working with a flight attendant who was in communication with a doctor on the ground, they took the woman’s blood pressure, pulse and blood glucose level.
“They calmed the patient and got her to take some juice and food, and also cooled her off,” the university’s post said. “The patient ended up feeling much better thanks to these two talented doctors in the making and their LSU medical education.”
“I think we work well as a team,” Bagneris said. Truer words could not have been said!
A representative for the LSU Health Sciences Center confirmed to Fox News that they are very proud of Duplessis and Bangeris.
On Facebook, the school wrote, "Two LSU Health New Orleans medical students on a flight to Greece were sure in the right place at the right time. There was a medical emergency onboard, and a call went out for medical professionals. No one responded, so Heather Duplessis and Lauren Bagneris identified themselves as medical students."
After arriving in Greece on Saturday local time, the group was island hopping as news of their experience emerged back home.
Duplessis maintains that her data 'ran out after getting so many messages'.
Speaking to the Washington Post, the girls said that 'they are also mentally preparing for the trip back home, just in case they run into a repeat situation.'
“Our main hope is that there are other, more qualified, medical professionals on board,” Duplessis said.
But if not, “we’ll do the same thing over again.”
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