My husband’s dead!’  My mind quickly scanned for the training manual that I had been studying so fervently the last month. Nope, I couldn’t remember any page where it told me how to cope with this eventuality. Mind you, this was exciting stuff for my first flight as a bona fide stewardess.

            ‘Let me come and see, madam,’ was the best I could come up with, flinging back the galley curtain, whilst motioning to my colleague that I needed her. Following the woman up the darkened cabin, I picked my way through arms and legs that were sprawled out over the seats into the aisles, as the passengers relaxed, watching the film after being fed and watered.

            The ‘dead’ husband was slumped in his aisle seat. I racked my brain for what to do. The manual said that as the first crew member on the scene I must make a decision and act. It was so dark it was impossible to tell if he was just deeply asleep or indeed dead. A large man, there was no way the two of us could lift him, to lay him on the floor for mouth to mouth, if that was necessary. I ran my tongue around my teeth and found a little something stuck in the groove of a molar. I had only just finished a tuna roll. What had he just finished? I shook my head. Mouth to mouth was quite unnecessary. I shook his shoulder. No reaction. I shook him harder whilst shouting in his ear. Nothing.

            A. B. C. – ‘Clear the airway,’ came flashing into my mind. This is what I had to do. A stood for airway, B for breathing and C for circulation. It was an emergency and these are fundamental when assessing a person for signs of life. I instinctively started to undo the tight belt around his portly waist. I looked at his wife who had unceremoniously climbed over his inert body and back into her seat, anxiously clutching her knees to her chest.  I questioned her as to what he had to eat and drink on the flight and if he was on any medication.

            I struggled with the catch. It wouldn’t pull tight enough to unclasp the hook. I tugged again, pushing his bulging flesh in slightly with my other hand. I didn’t get very far. Obviously the very action of interfering with the man’s trousers brought him round from wherever he was, pleasantly I hoped. His eyes fluttered and opened as he grabbed my hand to stop me undoing his clothing.

             ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ he shouted in disbelief, as I quickly backed off and let his trousers go. I opened my mouth to explain but the cries of joy from his distressed wife overwhelmed him as she clasped his face to cover it with kisses.

It’s not every day you bring someone back to life, become a heroine, (his wife thought I’d performed a miracle) and keep up the cabin crew reputation for customer satisfaction.

Love Suzi x

(More adventures of Suzi on the blog on my website http://www.teresahamilton.co.uk/blog.html