The month of April begins with mischief, innocent white lies and laughter; however, when two service members stationed aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, returned home aboard Korean Airlines Flight 7865, no comedy was involved.

Roughly three hours into their eight-hour return trip to Hawaii, a 57-year-old man began to show signs of uneasy breathing. After the man notified a flight attendant of his difficulty breathing, she responded by administering him with oxygen.

A concerned observer, who took the initiative to make the flight attendant aware of his medical expertise in case of need, occupied the seat directly behind the struggling man. Yet, the flight attendant responded to the worried passenger that the situation was under control. The concerned observer and his fellow corpsman seated next to him relaxed, but kept a watchful eye on the aircraft personnel attending the ailing man.

After nearly 15 minutes had passed without improvement, the flight attendant then asked the two concerned passengers for assistance. The two men identified themselves as Navy Lt. David M. Stevens, a flight surgeon with Marine Aircraft Group 24, and Petty Officer 1st Class John F. McGaha, a corpsman also with MAG-24, returning to K-Bay from deployment in support of Operation Foal Eagle in the Republic of Korea.

After gaining approval from both the man and his wife to assist the ill passenger in his struggle, Stevens quickly determined the man was suffering from acute respiratory distress, due to a severe asthma attack. His wife confirmed that he had a history of asthma.

At that point, the ill passenger began unsuccessfully gasping for air.

McGaha took action by retrieving the aircraft's medical kit and locating the materials needed to save the man, as Steven's researched the ailment in a critical care medical book he always carries with him. After the desperate search through the aircraft's inventory, the two medical Sailors realized that the medications needed could only be administered through an intravenous (IV) line.

Their concerns intensified, however, when they realized they were only equipped with one IV. McGaha successfully administered the IV on the one and only shot he was able to take, and the medications began working magic.

"It took about five minutes before he responded to the medications," said McGaha, who explained that he and Stevens continued to administer medication while also keeping a close eye on the patient, throughout the flight.

"McGaha carefully watched the man and took his vitals all night long," said Stevens, adding that many odd coincidences helped save the passenger. Before the flight began, Stevens had read a chapter in his critical care medical book to pass the time. That chapter he had been reading just happened to be about asthma.

Also, Stevens' and McGaha's seat placements directly behind the victim proved beneficial, especially since at the time of his attack, most of the other passengers were asleep. No one else roused and tried to aid the surgeon and corpsman throughout the duration of the rescue attempts, he explained.

"If we had not assisted the man, he would have died," said McGaha.

Stevens asked the pilot to alter the course in case an emergency landing was required. Fortunately, that safety measure was not needed. As an added precaution, however, the pilot flew the rest of the way back at a lower altitude. The adjustment lessened the cabin's air pressure, which increased available oxygen in the aircraft.

After five hours, the plane landed in Honolulu with all passengers healthy and safe.

Stevens and McGaha contacted the airline a couple weeks after their flight, and were informed that the former passenger was in good condition and very appreciative of their help.

"It was an amazing opportunity to help out," the men agreed. "We're just happy we could be there to assist with his recovery." [ANN Thanks Lance Cpl. Megan L. Stiner for the story...]

FMI: www.usmc.mil