Back to list 2014-08-11 14:02:05

Home is where your heart is. Our fast-paced, modern lifestyle can cause us to lose our direction in life. Sometimes we simply need someone who will be there for us. It’s always nice to be home especially when we get sick.

It was early autumn, a couple with a two-year-old were onboard a plane from Shanghai to Canada. Everyone was asleep during this long flight. When they had almost reached their destination, the husband realized that he couldn’t wake his 37 year-old wife up. The flight attendants informed the husband that the wife was not breathing and had no pulse and the aircraft made an emergency landing in Canada.

Despite life saving CPR, the wife was in a vegetative state. In order to assist her breathing, a tracheotomy was performed prior to being transferred to ICU. Although her signs of life returned, and could breathe independently, she was diagnosed with cardiopulmonary syndrome, and was in a coma.
Both of the couple were Chinese citizens. With a sense of helplessness as a foreigner, the husband wanted to transfer his wife back to Shanghai. According to the terms of insurance, no transferring fee would be insured unless no treatment was being provided to the patient. MSH staff understood how the husband felt and fought hard for this coverage benefit.

Due to the instability of air pressure and its affect on his wife’s tracheotomy, it would have been dangerous for his wife to take a regular aircraft back to Shanghai so the only option was a private air ambulance. For a Chinese air ambulance transfer, family members need to pay a full round trip fee for the whole medical team to fly over to Canada. Such a fee is incredibly expensive and difficult for most people to afford. MSH CHINA mobilized their whole team to explore all of the options for this family. After an extensive search, a Canadian medical jet charter agreed to take the wife under one condition; a hospital admission certification must be issued to the aircraft company once they arrive at China airport. The next obstacle; which hospital in Shanghai is suitable to take the wife? The hospital should meet the following criteria: 1. hyperbaric oxygen treatment provision; 2. experienced rescue team for cardiac arrest and apnea syndrome. MSH CHINA team looked through all hospitals in Shanghai and finally decided to place the wife in the Shanghai First People's Hospital.

Up to this moment, the wife is in stable condition in Canada. She can open her eyes occasionally, and is able to move her limbs. Yet she still has not regained full awareness. MSH CHINA continues to explore other options for the wife’s treatment and is continuing to monitor the situation. No one knows what will happen next and we will continue look for more solutions for this family.
 We cherish the people around us and take every opportunity to serve our customers. Our customers are our family and at MSH China, we take care of our family.