Karolina Gruhs

My Airplane Story:

I was flying to Europe, and we were just settling into the flight when the announcement came for medical personnel assistance. I identified myself as a Nurse and was led to a male passenger. He was showing obvious symptoms of a cardiac problem. I did an assessment, gave him aspirin, and oxygen. It was obvious we were going to have to divert and land as there was no way we could fly over the ocean with the condition this man was in. I returned to my seat to prepare for descent into Winnipeg.

As we were descending into Winnipeg, the flight crew came and asked me to assist with another passenger in medial distress! This person was going in and out of consciousness. I checked her blood sugar, and it was normal, but she was also showing signs of cardiac issues. I inserted an IV, and hoped she did not go into cardiac arrest. She was a larger woman, and chest compressions in such a tight space would be almost impossible. We landed in Winnipeg and both passengers were taken off the plane.

We had to wait a few hours in Winnipeg to de-ice the plane, and then we were off to Toronto for a change in flight crew. When we landed in Toronto, while we were disembarking, we saw a young child being removed from the plane and whisked off to the children’s hospital in a flurry of lights and sirens.

Although our flight was severely delayed, I am thankful my many years as a Nurse in Emergency gave me the skills and training needed to identify the seriousness of the medical issues these passengers were having. I shudder to think we might have had 2 Cardiac arrests and a child in distress while we were flying over the ocean.

The Motorcycle Accident:

It was October of this year, and my husband and I were driving from Calgary to Beaumont for a wedding. We were on a busy freeway. We saw a man on a motorcycle pass us, then not long after, his back tire hit a slick of oil, and he lost control. As we were driving behind him, we watched him, and his bike, roll over and over down the road. It seemed like forever, but he finally stopped rolling.

My husband and I leapt out of our vehicle to assist. My husband directed traffic around the scene while I attended to the motorcycle rider. He had no safety gear except for his helmet. His helmet was sheered all along the bottom to top. I can only imagine what would have happened if he did not have a helmet! He had scrapes, bruises, and road rash everywhere, and he was freaking out. He kept trying to get up.

As I was running towards him, I was yelling “Don’t move.” He continued to try to get up.

I reached him and continued to try to get him to lay still. Other bystanders were showing up, and I asked them to hold his arms and keep him still so I could immobilize his c-spine more effectively. I then continued to check for life-threatening injuries and assess while waiting for EMS to arrive. Speaking to him and trying to keep him calm the whole time.

When EMS and Fire arrived, they asked me to stay and continue to assist them with his care. They were grateful I was there and used me as additional support.

The total time for the event was close to 30 minutes, but it seemed like hours. The adrenaline rushing through your system, having to remain calm, and keep everyone else calm, it reminded me that I have amazing skills that I can use anytime, in any situation. And, how grateful I am for the amazing mentorship of my colleagues and friends, who are very much like family. All my experience, training, and knowledge led me to this moment, to help this human, in this situation.

Karolina Gruhs, RN CNE Integrated Home Care