Faith in Humanity restored

I travelled from Lahore to Karachi recently with my husband on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight. We were returning to our home after spending a rather traumatic time in Lahore where my husband had spent time in intensive care unit (ICU) owing to post-Covid complications. Though the doctors had advised us against air travel, we were anxious to get back home and in the care of our own doctors. In Lahore, we were staying with friends, who are more than family to us and did their best to convince us to extend our stay, but the call of the familiar space was a bit too hard to ignore.
Hardly 10 minutes after the takeoff, my husband started trembling uncontrollably as his blood pressure fell dangerously low and he started experiencing breathing difficulty. This is where the true story of unsung heroes and the kindness of the strangers began.
The moment the trouble began, all flight attendants bar none swung into action. They covered him with blankets, poured hot cups of coffee and the famous crew ki chai (served usually to the highly favoured), made an immediate announcement for doctors on board, arranged oxygen and showed nothing less than complete and utter empathy and sincere professional concern.
Soon after the announcement was made, two doctors came forward. One of them happened to be a pulmonologist visiting from England, while the other was a paediatrician. They took over the proceedings and within minutes brought things under control. It is the kindness of strangers that reaffirms one’s faith in mankind, and we would forever be grateful to the two doctors.
As for the crew, they were amazing professionals who were much more than those who serve tea or coffee to the passengers. They were competent life-savers who knew how to react to an emergency without causing unnecessary panic.
People these days are generally hesitant to travel PIA for one reason or the other, but this single interaction has made it clear how unfair it really is to make sweeping judgments and generalisations. May PIA be once again the airline that carried with pride the slogan, ‘Great people to fly with’.
It would be unfair on my part not to acknowledge the significant role of our fellow passengers who supported us silently and respectfully without bugging us with queries and advice. And, of course, there was this gentleman who shouted out as we began to disembark, ‘Thank you, doctors! Zindabad!’ This is precisely what we wanted to say and in that very tone and pitch. May the Almighty watch over you all always just as you were sent to watch over us. Thank you, all.
Ayesha Afridi
Karachi