is there anyone on board?

I am on a flight.

An 8 hour flight with my wife and 3 children.

We are about halfway through when I am woken from my dozing by an announcement….”Is there anyone on board who is medically trained?”

I am not medically trained. I have dispensed Calpol for my children, applied Savlon and plasters for cuts and grazes and can deal with (well just about survive) various teenage ailments, but I am not medically trained.
 
I look across to see the man that was sat next to my wife flat out on the floor being looked after by a couple of passengers who, to my untrained eye, appear to be medically trained. I can’t see any Calpol or plasters at least.
 
My wife is also there assisting. She is a trained midwife so whatever the cause of the problem we seem to have all bases covered!
 
There is a flurry of activity from the flight attendants as various equipment is found and numerous tests are undertaken
 
Oxygen is supplied, levels are checked and this poor chap starts to come round.  I watch the three passengers working together and caring for the man.
 
And then I start thinking…..what good am I in a situation like this?  There has never been an onboard announcement of “Is there anyone on board who has 20+ years insurance industry experience?” or “is there anyone on board who can run a small business?” or “is there anyone on board who holds the record at their school for missing the highest number of consecutive A-Level geography lessons in a row without being caught?”
 
In this man’s moment of pain and need I have managed to transfer some of the pain and need to me! Is that a skill that could come in useful?  “Is there anyone on board who is able to feel bad about themselves by watching others do good?”
 
And then I got it.  The skills and gifts of our time that are valued most and held up as the ultimate are, at the moments when it really matters, utterly useless.

“Is there a professional footballer on board?”
“Is there a Hollywood actor on board?”
“Is there a millionaire entrepreneur onboard?”
“Is there a city trader on board?”
“Is there a lawyer on board?”
“Is there a pilot on board?”…..no wait – that’s a good one, but not one that anyone ever wants to hear!
 
Watching those passengers care for and help that man I saw people who are passionate about caring. Yes, they all have their specialisms whether it was A&E or ODP (as we later discovered) or midwifery, but they all had one thing in common – their first thought was for the well-being of the passenger who had fallen ill.  They could have stayed in their seats and thought “I’m off duty, it’s my holiday, someone else can/ will deal with it.” They didn’t. They came together from different parts of the plane to help.  And it looked to me as though the three of them had worked together for years.

So why am I writing this.  I have so many movies that I can watch in the remainder of this flight but I feel that I need to mark this moment.
 
What do we really value?
 
What really matters?
 
Why do we make more of some roles/jobs than others?
 
Whatever we do we should put people first
 
My family and I are flying from Hong Kong where the attention to the person and their needs and comfort is extraordinary. There was a team of people to meet us as we arrived at our hotel – more of them than us! Someone to help us buy a ticket for the Star ferry – a ticket that cost 27 pence per person, and every time we took a photo (selfie) we were inundated with people offering to help and take a photo of us.
 
The true value in life is our approach to people.  We seem to have lost this in the “wealthy” West and look at everything through an economic or financial lens.  The first question is “is it profitable” or “is it productive” rather than “are we putting the person first”

I’m not sure if those three caring passengers would have had the luxury of the time and assistance that they had in the air, in their usual places of work. But guess what – it worked. The ill passenger recovered quickly and none of the three had to work ridiculous hours without the proper support or resources in place. They went back to their seats having done their job – but not at the expense of their own health. 
 
I have been stirred by my recent experiences to make sure I put people first.  I may not be medically trained but I can do more and I’m sure we all can.  Imagine the multiplying effect if we all did more to put other people first and care for others.
 
So is there anyone on board?
 
Are we on board to help and care for others and change the world for the better?
 
One final thought, this chap fell ill after having been sat next to my wife (who is very good at talking) for 4 hours…….I’ve been married to her for 20 years!

“The value of our lives is not determined by what we do for ourselves. The value of our lives is determined by what we do for others.” (Simon Sinek)