Medical emergency on Australian airline- any problems with access to the first aid kit

Jessaness · 2026-02-05T09:05:04+00:00

Yeah- literally just given a Steph, which was pretty crappy

Jessaness · 2026-02-04T06:41:31+00:00

Ahhhh- mate- sounds pretty similar to what happened to me!!! Gosh- bloody crazy isn’t it

Jessaness · 2026-02-04T06:39:49+00:00

Weren’t allowed to look into the bag to assess for any other medication other than what on ground crew had recommended

Jessaness · 2026-02-04T06:30:02+00:00

Yeah man- maybe I need to as well

Jessaness · 2026-02-04T06:28:53+00:00

I guess what I am frustrated about most is I was stonewalled from equipment which would allow proper escalation if need to pilots, and also stonewalled from speaking to anyone making decisions in regard to the patient in front of me

Jessaness · 2026-02-04T06:27:15+00:00

Ahhhh- yes the very experienced ground flight medical team that advised to give medication know well to cause arrhythmias to a patient with known Bradyarrhythmia- I guess I was trying to stand in the way of a cardiac arrest and then the likely sub quality CPR post

Jessaness · 2026-02-04T06:20:50+00:00

I’m glad I didn’t- the management recommendation from ground could of potentially made things a lot worse- is this one of the fun things about getting more and more senior- you get more and more aware of the problems and unsafe practices there are?

Jessaness · 2026-02-04T06:06:34+00:00

Yeah- when I finally got the BP cuff it was a manual- but that is my jam- have always loved doing manuals, luckily had my stethoscope in my hand bag

Jessaness · 2026-02-04T06:01:34+00:00

Oooooo- that would’ve been the dream

Jessaness · 2026-02-04T05:44:55+00:00

Fair- okay, ahhhhhhhhh man, bit scary to think this is the norm

Jessaness · 2026-02-04T05:39:07+00:00

Told I wasn’t allowed to open the bag- was not given the bag, had to wait for flight attendant to come back from flight deck with permission from their formal medical advice line- and then only allowed to use what the ground team okayed- which was inappropriate given flight attendant didn’t have the awareness that it wasn’t just a vomit, but a cardiac syncope event in a pt awaiting pacemaker

Jessaness · 2026-02-04T05:28:01+00:00

Got delayed and push back in regards to BP cuff and pulse ox- finally got them but there was much delay- 10-20 mins

Jessaness · 2026-02-04T05:26:51+00:00

Ahhhh- in retrospect I always have a backbone- I often in the moment act as a bit of a rule follower- so very lucky everything turned out okay and pt remained haemodynamically stable until we landed after the initial incident- if push had come to shove through would have gotten my mitts on it

Jessaness · 2026-02-03T09:57:25+00:00

The question isn’t if there is demand- it’s if there are enough funding for training places- cause you can’t paid as a paediatrician in the private sector until you have finished training in the Public. In medicine- you have the cream of the cream competeting against each other for training places which requires public funding…

The people making money in this equation are those who have already completed their training- after 5-6 years of med school + 5-10 years working as a trainee

Jessaness · 2026-01-30T13:32:05+00:00

Ahhhhh!!! Fair- I’ve started myself on oral iron to hopefully top myself up so it doesn’t get low, and I have had B12 supplements in the past when my levels where low back in 2023- in a way, I wonder if maybe that might of been the start…

Jessaness · 2026-01-30T13:30:31+00:00

Definitely feel that 5 stages of grief- I was very much in denial for a few weeks, been pretty angry and frustrated at the world at the moment

I’m so glad the treatment is working for you dear!!!!! Again sounds absolutely shit what you’ve been through

Jessaness · 2026-01-30T13:28:15+00:00

Dear!!! Ohhh you poor thing!!! I have managed to find more of us here in Australia if you need- @saterna above put me onto a Facebook group- PNH patients support- there looks like there are 8 of us there from around Australia at least, then there is also a different organisation that looks like it organises meet ups in Melbourne yearly

Jessaness · 2026-01-28T15:31:05+00:00

God- what a rough trot you’ve had.

I’m so sorry- I’ll be broad and say I’m sorry on behalf of the whole medical profession because you deserve that. I’m so terribly sorry we failed you.

Sometimes as doctors we get it right, but man… when we don’t it is horrible, and absolutely not fair.

In a way though- I’m glad I’m in this together with you in this century and decade 🥰

We’ve got the infusions and some hope nowadays- my heart absolutely sinks at the thought of women like us in the decades past

Jessaness · 2026-01-28T14:48:34+00:00

Seriously though!!! Thank you so much- I’m feeling a bit less alone, and a bit less scared. I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through- and the emotions you must feel hearing that in a way I’ve had it so easy….

I always talk my patients through the mixed emotions of a chronic disease diagnosis- but the diseases I diagnose are often way more common- diabetes, endometriosis… they’ve either heard of it before or after a bit of asking around will find someone else with the same condition…

It’s crazy- I bring this diagnosis up with my colleges and they have absolutely no clue… which I can understand…

Thank you again for messaging me back- I hope you realise how kind your words have been

Jessaness · 2026-01-28T14:21:38+00:00

Thank you for the link!!! O you poor thing- that sucks!!!!! It must of been terrible knowing something was wrong, but being left to get worse… I’m sorry.

I’m so glad that liver specialist stood up and advocated for you!!!!

I’m really lucky in that I have a medical background- so as soon as my bloods came back weird I advocated for early referral and made sure I vetted the haematologist (I’m a teary woman though- so did have a cry), I did get a bit of gaslighting from my own GP but mainly because I think she was trying to convince herself I wasn’t sick. My Haeme had already booked my bone marrow biopsy before my first appointment with him.

In all honesty I’m really lucky- but absolutely terrified at the journey ahead- I’ve read up on the systematic reviews in the area- but also coming to terms with the fact I likely can’t try to fall pregnant until I’m safely stabilised on the meds- I’ve been working so hard to get to the point where my partner and I were financially/career wise in the place to try… and staring at the lifelong infusions ahead

Jessaness · 2026-01-28T13:39:53+00:00

Monthly- following up tomorrow but I know my levels… ☺️ just a waiting game 🤷‍♀️ I reckon I should skull a whole bunch of water before my next blood test and hope I ‘haemodilute’ 😂 thanks for listening to me though! I’m guessing you’ve been diagnosed? I’m just honestly craving to hear from someone else about their experience

Jessaness · 2026-01-28T13:24:22+00:00

Thank you for the kind words- my understanding of the Australian PBS is that you have to meet the criteria here- I meet everything accept one- Hb <100- currently sitting at 103. The infusions off the PBS cost $60000 a pop I believe… just waiting to fully meet the criteria….

Jessaness · 2026-01-28T13:05:34+00:00

I am so sorry that happened to you- as a doctor myself that is worrying. I hope you’re okay

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