Frances Leate
By Jon Clarke
A SPANISH nurse was called into action to save the life of a child who had gone into convulsions on a Ryanair flight to Germany.
The nurse, who was flying to Dusseldorf on New Year’s Eve, acted swiftly when she spotted the child lying in the aisle close to unconsciousness.
Virginia Valle, 27, from Malaga, quickly took the boy’s temperature to find it was over 40 degrees and then steadied his head to stop him banging it, as well as getting the father to hold his tongue to stop him from swallowing it.
As the boys parents were Italian and Belgium the language barrier was initially a problem.
“They spoke no Spanish so we made do with a mixture of French and English,” she told Sur.
After ascertaining if he had had some sort of allergic reaction, she asked the airline for some diazepam, but discovered the rudimentary medical kit on board had very little of use.
Finally she was able to get a paracetamol from the mother and managed to bring his temperature down by inserting it into his rectum.
After a few minutes the contractions started to slow down and finally the boy dropped off to sleep with his temperature dropping.
“It was such a relief and half the plane gave me a round of applause,” said Valle, who was forced to move to Germany to find work last year.
“The father kept telling me how I had saved his son’s life.”
She continued: “The biggest problem was having to fight off other passengers who wanted to help, but with no idea.
“Some told me to cover him up when I took his top off to try and bring his temperature down, while another wanted to give him something to eat.
“An Asian man even suggested that he gave him some acupuncture.”
Ironically the nurse had been expecting to spend New Year’s Eve in Malaga with her family.
But due to a mix up with her ticket she ended up having to fly back to German that day.
She ended up spending the night on her own in Germany, eating a panini.
“But in the end I was overjoyed to have been on the flight and had my calling to help. It was something of a miracle!”
heartwarming…and well done Virginia…. ! Did Ryan Air say thanks..=??? offer a Free Flight etc… ???? bet it is a NO…
just be happy with a story with a great outcome rather than use it as another opportunity to slag off Ryanair. Its for the parents to thank Virginia – Which they did-not Ryanair.
They fly 82million passengers a year; If you dont like them, dont fly them. Easy.
Just don’t dare be unwell on board with their useless sounding first aid kits !! That alone should have been enough for an apology from Ryanair,but as the whole world knows,Ryanair NEVER apologises for anything !!
So that’s how to calm a headache more effectively. Shove the tablet where the sun don’t shine!.
amparo. – Yes. Parcetamol PR is highly effective and frequently used when oral administration is not possible, as here. What a mercy the nurse got to him before anyone else. Well done Virginia.
Perhaps her training was different but it is not advisable to hold a person’s tongue if they are having a fit. The risk of swallowing your tongue comes afterwards when the muscles relax and can be prevented by putting the person into the recovery position. Holding a fitting person’s tongue may cause damage to the jaw or the fingers may be bitten!
JANUARY 5TH, 2013 4:02 PM
Just don’t dare be unwell on board with their useless sounding first aid kits !! That alone should have been enough for an apology from Ryanair,but as the whole world knows,Ryanair NEVER apologises for anything !!…………..
Same first aid kit as most airlines. The reason being that anything more is dangerous in untrained hands. This is not an opportunity to slag off Ryanair. And they do apologise. I once had an apology and a refund from them when I missed a flight due to their fault.
**PM**. I accede to your wider knowledge. My comment, though perhaps rather frivolous over Virginia’s commendable actions, was a tongue in cheek posting resulting from the terrifying thought that Ryanair staff, having learned such a valuable lesson, might take it upon themselves to introduce this analistic remedy as a global cure-all procedure to save money on first aid kits.
Of course, it could also be offered as an official company response to those who habitually complain.
Well done you !
Why someone thinks Ryanair has to apologize for a passenger sickness????? Are you so stiff minded to put the world blames on Ryanair?
I don’t particularly like this airline but guys take it easy!!! No airline would apologize for a passenger health
Bravo Virginia !