Vacationing nurse couple help deliver premature baby at 35,000 feet after a fellow passenger went into labor on a nine-hour flight to the Philippines
- Sheryl and Ruel Pascua from Stoke-on-Trent flew to the island country
- They had caught their first flight to Kuwait before embarking on the next leg to Manila
- After just 20 minutes, an expectant mother realized that she needed help
A couple going on vacation helped deliver a premature baby after a fellow passenger went into labor on a nine-hour flight to the Philippines.
Sheryl and Ruel Pascua, from Newstead, Stoke-on-Trent, were 35,000 feet in the air when the cabin crew called urgently for “medical professionals” to board the plane.
The duo, who work as nurses at NG Healthcare in Trentham, flew to the Southeast Asian western Pacific island nation on August 2.
They had taken their first flight from London Heathrow to Kuwait before embarking on the second leg of the journey to Manila.
After just 20 minutes, an expectant mother, also named Sheryl, realized she needed help after going into labor at just six months.
Sheryl and Ruel were assisted by two other nurses who were also on board. She said: “When I tried to do the internal exam I was surprised and thrilled that the mother was already in the coronation phase.
Sheryl and Ruel Pascua (pictured), from Newstead, Stoke-on-Trent, were airborne at 35,000ft when cabin crew on board the Kuwaiti Airways flight called out urgently for “medical professionals”.
After just 20 minutes, a mother-to-be also known as Sheryl (above) realized she needed help after going into labor at just six months
“I called to Ruel to help train and prepare her and within moments the little boy came out. He caught the baby while I visited him and focused on the mother and the placenta delivery.
“I was a bit nervous because it was quite scary and beyond the convenience of any medical staff. The baby was only about 24 weeks old so it was the same size as my husband’s palm, he was very small.
“This is the first time I’ve helped a mother on a flight and the medical kit isn’t complete so we had to improvise and think critically.
“It has been the most exciting, exciting and at the same time most humbling experience for me and my husband in our entire nursing profession. We attend to patients’ needs three to four times a week, but this experience is so different and unique.
“I feel so honored and privileged that God orchestrated these things and used me, my husband and Carlos Abungan, another nurse from London, to save the baby and mother for the entire nine-hour journey.”
Sheryl has kept in touch with the baby’s mother after they were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at a local hospital. The little boy has been put on a ventilator and is believed to be fine.
Sheryl has kept in touch with the baby’s mother after they were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at a local hospital. Pictured: Flight crew members pose with the baby
She added: “God did a miracle and the baby is alive. The support and shared knowledge between us nurses eased the situation and pressure.
“Of course we do not neglect the help, vigilance and support of the cabin crews, especially to their off-duty onboard nurse Justine, who was by my side throughout surveillance, and also to the other crew and passengers, who extended their assistance by giving their blankets.” .
“It was indeed a picture of a team working together and the mother was very grateful.”
The airline has been asked for comment.
