A bundle of joy. It may be a while before Brampton resident Balvinder Singh Ahuja, left, has a chance to use his stethoscope or a scalpel in Canada, but his skills as a doctor proved handy when he helped deliver a baby in a plane 36,000 feet above the ground. Submitted photo He ran a hospital in India but not recognized as a doctor here It may be a while before Brampton resident Balvinder Singh Ahuja has a chance to use his stethoscope or a scalpel in Canada, but his skills as a doctor proved handy when he helped deliver a baby in a plane 36,000 feet above the ground.
Ahuja, a pediatrician, was returning to Toronto from Hoshiarpur, India on an Air India flight this weekend when he heard the captain ask passengers if there was a doctor on the plane. Turns out there was, except the doctor in this case was not an accredited member of the Canadian medical system, but an internationally trained physician. “Two hours into my flight there was a call on the public address system saying there was a medical emergency in the plane. The captain asked if there was a doctor or a nurse on-board,” said Ahuja. “I identified myself and went to the tail end of the plane where I saw a woman in labour. I have experience with neonatology and have seen thousands of deliveries, but my job (as a pediatrician) usually starts after the baby is born.”
The Air India flight’s captain was faced with a dilemma. He could divert the plane to Frankfurt, which was three hours away, but doing so would mean he would have to dump 60 to 70 tonnes of jet fuel. When Ahuja examined the mother, Kuljeet Kaur, he saw she was in advanced stages of labour. Ahuja immediately rolled up his sleeves and set to work. He rummaged in the plane’s first aid kit and found it held gloves, a small bottle of antiseptic, scissors and some bandages. There was nothing to sterilize the scissors with, so the doctor grabbed a bottle of scotch and cleaned the implement with it. Sheets that would later swaddle the baby were heated in the microwave.
Some 45 minutes later, Kuljeet Kaur and her husband Ranjodh Singh Gill of Alberta, welcomed a seven-pound baby girl, Akashleen Kaur (Akash in Hindi means skies) somewhere over the airspace of Kazakhstan.
“The whole experience was exciting,” said Ahuja. “I was anxious, but not nervous because as a trained doctor, I am used to it.”
The Brampton resident immigrated to Canada from Punjab six months ago. In Punjab, he ran a hospital. When Ahuja realized in Canada it would take him years or even decades to become an accredited physician, he decided to abandon his dreams and wants to pick up a job as a security guard or a trucker.
“The fact that my 13 years of experience and training is useless in Canada is a loss not just to me, but to India and Canada as well,” he said. “The irony is not lost on me. Canada did not let me practice on the soil, so I did it in the air...”
By RADHIKA PANJWANI
http://www.bramptonguardian.com/news/artic...
Posted By: Jen Fad
Tuesday, November 1st 2011 at 11:48AM
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