Savage Peril - Emily Jane Trent Page 0,1

her way by the two passengers seated next to her. Once in the aisle, she responded to the call. There would be only one reason for such an announcement. The crew needed assistance with an inflight emergency.

Crews were onboard to see to the passengers’ comfort and safety, but they were not medically trained. It didn’t happen often, but Lori or her father had assisted before when a crisis occurred. So far, the incidents had been controllable, and no one had died.

The pilot might choose to land the plane if a passenger was in a life-threatening condition. That could prove impossible on international flights, and Lori had once stabilized a woman with severe diabetic symptoms until the plane could land.

Lori was a professional, so her focus was on the patient, her own issues irrelevant now. She hoped it wasn’t anything too serious. After sweeping back the curtain, she stepped inside to take in the scene. There was a man in his forties lying on a pad on the floor with his shoes off.

“Are you a doctor?” the flight attendant said.

“Yes, I run the Waters Pain Clinic.” Lori didn’t have time to talk. It was clear the man was in anaphylactic shock. His skin was pale; his lips and eyelids were swollen. He appeared to have trouble breathing.

“This is Marco Bacci,” the flight attendant said.

Lori was already on the floor beside him. “Marco, I’m going to help you,” Lori said. The man nodded but seemed unable to speak. Most likely, his throat was swollen.

“Bring me the EpiPen,” Lori said, since she could use it to quickly treat the severe allergic reaction.

“We don’t have one,” the flight attendant said. “I’ll get the advanced life-support kit.” She reached in a cupboard and pulled out the kit.

There wasn’t much time. Such a reaction could be due to food, drugs, bee sting, or other allergens. It didn’t matter. The anaphylaxis was severe and potentially life-threating. She guessed the cause had been the ingestion of food, since that would result in a slower progression of the allergic reaction.

Lori couldn’t say how long she had. Once the anaphylaxis peaked, it could turn deadly in less than fifteen minutes. She rummaged through the kit. Thankfully, she found epinephrine and a syringe. “You’ll have to help me,” she said to the flight attendant.

The flight attendant knelt beside her.

“Remove his slacks. I’ll have to inject into his thigh muscle.” Lori started preparing the injection, adjusting the dose to one appropriate for a man of his size.

Then Lori looked at Marco. His eyelids were swollen but not completely closed. “You’re having a severe allergic reaction. I’m going to give you an injection. This is adrenaline, and it will bring you out of shock. Your symptoms should abate.”

Marco looked at her, clearly suffering.

“I won’t kid you; this is going to hurt. In a hospital, there are alternatives. But injecting into your leg muscle is the best option we have here.” Lori didn’t see the need to mention that if the situation deteriorated, there was a risk that she’d have to open his airways with an incision.

The flight attendant held Marco’s leg stable while Lori administered the injection. Then she gave Marco a look of encouragement. As the epinephrine began to work, Marco began to breathe easier. After a few deep breaths, he said through swollen lips, “Shit…I thought I was going to die.”

Lori took his hand. “Fortunately, the emergency kit had what we needed. Sorry, it was a bit rough, but it worked.”

“I owe you my life,” Marco said between deep breaths.

“That’s what doctors do,” Lori said. “When you get to the hospital, you’ll be given more epinephrine intravenously. What I’ve given you will last until you get there, so don’t worry.”

“We’re only thirty minutes from the airport,” the flight attendant said. “An ambulance is waiting and ready.” Then she spoke on the intercom to let the pilot know that the situation was under control.

“I’ll stay with you until you deplane,” Lori said. “I’ll monitor your heart and breathing.”

“My throat is better,” Marco said. “It was so swollen it felt like there was a tight band around my neck.”

“Yes, I can imagine so,” Lori said. “Do you have any idea what the allergen was?”

“I can’t say for sure.” Marco was talking, if in a labored fashion. “I wasn’t aware of anything that I’d react to. I did have food at the snack bar before the flight. I’m allergic to peanuts, but I’m always careful about that.”

“That could have been it,” Lori said. “There