NH Woman Looking for Fellow Passengers on a Southwest Flight Who Saved Her Husband’s Life

The thing about emergencies is that you can't plan them! You can only hope that if/when you find yourself in a situation where your health or safety is compromised, you will be in the company of some fast-acting folks! The people that are able to think quickly and critically in a stressful situation are, in my opinion, the most impressive breed of human. I do not operate well under pressure and actually have nightmares of a scenario where someone I love is choking, and I am supposed to do the Heimlich but JUST SIT THERE. Can you believe how incompetent dream Kira is!?

Donna Salimbene-Travis found herself in the company of some amazing people on a Southwest flight recently. If those particular people weren't on that particular flight, she might not be at home in New Hampshire with her husband today. Let me back it up.

On Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, Donna and her husband James were getting ready to fly home on a Southwest flight from Baltimore, Maryland. James started having breathing problems which then led to a full blown heart attack. There was a young lady who told Donna she was a Nurse Practitioner, and she was going to do chest compressions. At this point, James was laying in the aisle. A man (who wore a camouflage-patterned face mask) called for the defibrillator and proceeded to try and save Donna's husband twice.

Thank god the plane had not taken off yet and EMTs were able to come on board. They were raced to the University of Maryland Medical Center where they stayed for 18 days. James had open heart surgery and a quadruple bypass, plus a pacemaker. They were able to return to New Hampshire on January 27, 2022.