EMT Saves the Day Aboard World’s Longest Flight – Twice

By Mendy Wineberg-COLlive

Whenever Levi Niasoff flew out of town from his native Sydney, Australia, a friend from Hatzolah would pester him to take his EMT card with him “just in case something happens on board.”

Niasoff, who volunteers with Hatzolah Medical Service in Sydney, doesn’t usually heed his friend’s advice.

On a return trip home from New York this past week for a family Simcha, he begrudgingly took along the EMT card, which turned out to be the source of a massive kiddush Hashem.

“I really wasn’t feeling well on the day of the flight,” recalled the 22-year-old Niasoff, “so I decided to keep my card handy in case I needed more serious medicine from the crew on the plane.”

Things took an unexpected turn when Niasofff heard the captain’s voice over the loudspeaker of his Qantas Airlines flight asking for any medical personnel on board to help with an emergency.

He immediately came forward and presented his card and was brought to a man who had fainted and was lying unconscious in the aisle. Niasoff promptly began treating him and administering oxygen until the patient’s levels returned to normal.

After communicating with a medical team on the ground from the pilot’s cockpit, it was determined that the flight could continue as long as his levels remained stable. Niasoff continued to monitor the patient’s oxygen throughout the remainder of the flight.

A short while later, Niasoff was again called for an emergency, this time involving a young man experiencing severe pain and discomfort from a condition he suffered from. Utilizing the basic medications and resources on board the plane, he was able to reduce the pain to a manageable level, and the flight was able to continue without delay.

On both occasions, Niasoff’s quick thinking and medical expertise saved the flight from having to make a diversion, and the crew and passengers were abundantly grateful.

The flight from New York to New Zealand en route to Sydney is one of the longest non-stop flights available, with a flight time of approximately 17 hours.

With all the excitement during the flight and the constant monitoring of the patient’s oxygen, the crew correctly assumed that Niasoff hadn’t slept much and invited him to Business Class to enjoy a much-deserved rest.

After arriving in New Zealand, the flight’s grateful captain instructed Niasoff to let the crew on his next flight to Sydney know what he had done so that he would be upgraded there as well, which is exactly what transpired.

“This was a beautiful kiddush Hashem for all the passengers on the flight to see,” Yigal Niasoff, Levi’s uncle, told COLlive.com.

“With everything that’s going on in the world right now, it’s especially important that we show people the values that we abide by and the care that we, as Yidden, have for every person.”