Tengrinews.kz — On October 18, three passengers on an Almaty–Astana flight fell ill almost simultaneously. The only doctor on board, Raya Rakhimova, monitored them throughout the flight and provided medical assistance. A Tengrinews.kz correspondent spoke with the doctor to find out what happened on the plane, how she managed the situation and whether this was the first such incident in her life.
“I stood up and said I was a doctor”
Raya Rakhimova was a passenger on a flight from Almaty to Astana that was scheduled to depart at 10:40 a.m. on October 18. However, the flight was delayed for several hours, and passengers did not board until 2:00 p.m. The long wait may have been one of the factors behind what happened next.
“We sat on the plane for about an hour. The airline changed the aircraft, so passengers had to move to different seats. Tension in the cabin was growing. The confined space and anxiety — I think that, combined with fatigue and stress, caused some passengers to feel unwell during the flight,” Raya Rakhimova said, recalling the events of that day.
At one point, she said, flight attendants addressed the cabin and asked whether there was a doctor on board because one of the passengers was feeling unwell.
“I stood up and said I was a doctor,” she recalled.
At that moment, Raya Rakhimova did not yet know that she would have to monitor several passengers at once until the end of the flight.
Hypertension: the first passenger
The flight attendants first took Rakhimova to a woman who complained of feeling unwell.
“Her blood pressure had risen, and it turned out that she had hypertension,” the doctor said.
She measured the woman’s blood pressure and pulse, listened to her complaints, and asked about her medical conditions and the medicines she was taking. By that time, the passenger had already taken her usual medication, so the doctor decided to monitor her condition.
Kidney transplant: the second passenger
Some time later, airline staff announced that another passenger needed medical assistance. According to Raya Rakhimova, this time it was a girl of about 10 years old.
“It turned out that she had recently received a kidney transplant from her father and was flying to Astana for a medical consultation. I examined her, measured her blood pressure and pulse. The child had a headache and swelling in her legs. I loosened the collar around her neck and asked what exactly was bothering her. Psychological support is also very important in moments like this, so I sat next to the child and we talked for a long time,” she recalled.
The doctor asked to see the girl’s medical documents and carefully reviewed the discharge summary.
“I looked at the test results and medical history and tried to understand her condition as thoroughly as possible. I was very worried about the child, considering her recent surgery,” she admitted.
In the documents, the doctor noticed a familiar name. It turned out that the girl’s attending physician was one of her former students. They had once worked together at the East Kazakhstan Regional Children’s Hospital.
To make the girl more comfortable, Raya Rakhimova asked for her to be moved to the business-class cabin by the window. Until the end of the flight, she periodically checked on the child, measured her blood pressure and asked how she was feeling.
“My arms and legs are tightening”: the third passenger
Later, the flight attendants again asked the doctor for help. A young woman had begun feeling unwell during the flight.
“She complained that her blood pressure had dropped and that her arms and legs felt tight. We call this convulsive readiness. I massaged her neck and shoulder area, arms and legs, asked for warm tea, and gradually she relaxed,” the doctor explained.
“I kept thinking about how to get them safely to Astana”
From takeoff until arrival in Astana, Raya Rakhimova continued monitoring all three passengers.
“The whole time, I kept thinking about how to get them to Astana in good condition. I felt responsible for each of them.”
According to the doctor, all three began feeling better by the middle of the flight.
Was it frightening to monitor several patients at the same time?
“I wouldn’t say I was scared. The flight was only an hour and a half, but I worried about each of them, especially the girl who had recently undergone a kidney transplant. When someone feels unwell, medical workers are the first to rush to help without thinking about themselves,” she replied.
It turns out that during her career, Raya Rakhimova has already assisted passengers several times during flights, including children and pregnant women.
“I always carry a pulse oximeter to measure oxygen saturation, as well as medicines that may be needed if blood pressure rises sharply. I am always ready to help,” Rakhimova said.
“Simple human gratitude means a great deal”
When the plane landed in Astana, all three passengers were feeling well, according to the doctor.
“Each of them came up to me and said, ‘Thank you so much.’ In fact, simple human gratitude means a great deal. For a doctor who has devoted as many years to medicine as I have, nothing more is needed,” she said.
