Abby Connolly
Have you ever been watching a plane scene in a movie or television show where someone asks if there’s a doctor on board?
One doctor recently got rather tipsy on a long-haul international flight, so when someone asked if a doctor was on board, he didn’t say anything, upsetting the person next to him.
He’s a doctor in his mid-30s and works in internal medicine at a major hospital. Recently, he was on a long-haul international flight and decided to stay awake for most of it, enjoying the flight’s amenities. One of those amenities was a variety of free drinks.
“I had already been drinking even before the flight while I was in the lounge,” he said.
“I was not slurring or excessively drunk, but I was feeling a strong buzz. Usually, I don’t chat with my co-passengers; I just sleep or do my own thing. On this flight, the configuration of the business class cabin was such that the passengers in the middle row were practically just beside each other.”
Because he was drunk and feeling chatty, he decided to speak to the person beside him, as there wasn’t much of a divide between them. It was a woman in her 30s, and they had a friendly conversation. She asked him what he does, and he mentioned that he is a doctor.
During the flight, he continued watching movies and drinking when suddenly, there was an announcement from the flight crew asking all passengers if a doctor was on board.
“Normally, I would present myself to the cabin crew and help out, but after several hours of on-flight boozing, I was pretty drunk,” he recalled.
“I was not able to think clearly and probably would have done more harm than good in such a situation. I didn’t react to the announcement at all. I continued watching my movie and drinking my drink. My co-passenger tapped me and said they [had] just announced they [needed] a doctor. I replied that someone else would help or they would get instructions from the medical team on the ground.”
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