SAF medic and nurse are real-life heroes on SQ flight

A Facebook post from The Singapore Army lauding the heroic efforts of a couple from Singapore has gone viral. The couple, both medically trained professionals, immediately came to the aid of a fellow passenger who had fallen unconscious on the flight. The patient was determined not to be an emergency case, and the flight proceeded to its destination in Japan.

According to the post from The Singapore Army, last Friday, July 6, a Medical Vocational Instructor from SAF Medical Training Institute, ME1 Lam Guo Wei, and his wife, Audrey Chia, a Senior Staff Nurse at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, were on a flight to Japan. At one point, the couple noticed that a man had fainted near their seats. They moved the man to where they had more space and performed tests on him. A little while later, as the man’s condition became more stable, a Japanese doctor on board also examined him and was able to determine that an emergency landing would not be needed.

ME1 Lam said, “This was the second time I’ve encountered a casualty on board a commercial flight. Since my wife and I are medically trained and qualified to aid someone, we did not hesitate to step forward.”

The couple was accompanied by a photographer, John Lin, who was amazed by the couple’s immediate action and posted about it on his Facebook page. He was also able to photograph the couple in action. He wrote, “Seeing them saving a life real time, as husband and wife was an awe inspiring experience,” and said that he had a “proud father moment.” Mr. Lin also mentioned in his post that Singapore Air Lines has gifted ME1 Lam and Ms. Chia with cash vouchers to show their gratitude.

Both the posts of The Singapore Army and John Lin have been widely shared, and netizens have been quick to praise the couple.