A couple flying with their daughter who suffers from Type 1 Diabetes, sparked a debate after saying Southwest Airlines didn’t do enough to accommodate their child during a medical emergency.
In a video posted by the child’s mother, Micaela Wire (@micaelawire), she shows part of the chaos that happened as the family was flying from Orlando, Florida to Chicago, Illinois. The clip has garnered over 426,000 views.
The clip shows Micaela’s husband carrying their daughter and calling 911. Both appear to be covered in vomit.
Micaela offered more context in the caption, saying the trouble started shortly before landing.
“On a late flight from Orlando to Chicago, my daughter started going low just before we landed while she was napping,” she wrote.
The family tried to treat it the way they usually would, but because their daughter was asleep, they needed something she could drink. Micalea says her husband got up to ask a flight attendant for apple juice, but she allegedly pushed orange juice instead.
“She kept making smart remarks like ‘well we use orange juice and you should just use orange juice,’” she wrote. “Like okay??? And?”
Eventually, Micaela says, the flight attendant gave them apple juice. However, after they landed about 15 minutes later, their daughter’s blood sugar still had not gone up.
As the plane taxied toward the gate, Micaela says her husband went back to tell the flight attendant they were dealing with a medical emergency and needed to get off quickly once the plane reached the boarding bridge.
According to Micaela, the response didn’t make them feel like the situation was being taken seriously.
“She gave more attitude and said okay and got on the phone acting like she called someone for us. But she didn’t,” Micalea wrote.
Then, she says, the flight attendant made an announcement warning passengers not to stand up before the plane stopped.
“She got on the intercom and stated that if anyone gets up again that they’ll stop the plane. And if it’s not an ‘emergency’ to stay seated,” she wrote.
Micaela says people often don’t understand how dangerous a diabetic low can become.
“But that’s the thing, a diabetic low isn’t an ‘emergency’, until IT IS,” she wrote. “So technically it IS a medical emergency because it’s very unpredictable.”
She explained that low blood sugar can cause dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and in more severe cases, seizures. Because of that, she says her family could not afford to stand behind rows of passengers slowly collecting bags.
Once the plane reached the gate, Micaela says the family stood up but got stuck behind other passengers.
“No flight attendants in sight checking in on my daughter as we’re struggling to keep her condition from escalating,” she wrote. “Like what did we have to do? Yell and scream? We had already informed the crew multiple times of her medical condition.”
Then she says the situation escalated.
“Next thing you know, 10 minutes later we’re still standing up waiting to move and she starts throwing up everywhere, on everyone and on everything,” she wrote. “THEN EVERYONE WANTS TO MOVE and let us through.”
Micaela called the situation “extremely scary” for the family, adding that her parents were also with them and were traumatized by what happened.
“This is the REAL struggles of having a Type 1 Diabetic child and traveling,” she wrote. “Some people don’t take you seriously and then it’s too late.”
According to Micaela, the family rushed off the plane to get help. Thankfully, from recent follow-ups in her account, it appears that their daughter is now in good health.
“Thanks a lot @Southwest Airlines,” she wrote.
In the comments section, not everyone agreed that Southwest Airlines was at fault.
“As the parent, you should be prepared,” one user wrote.
“I’m diabetic, my sugar drops, I always carry peppermints or sugar packets,” another said.
Others, however, understood why Micalea was upset and said the situation should have been handled with more urgency.
“Former FA here. Please make a report,” one commenter stated. “They could have made an announcement and helped escort you to the front of the plane.”
“That’s so scary!” another added. “Too few people understand the risk of low glucose. Hope she is okay now.”
U.S. airlines do have some federal requirements for medical equipment and crew training.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), for example, requires passenger aircraft to carry first-aid kits, emergency medical kits, and more, depending on the size of the plane.
According to John Hopkins Medicine, a first-aid kit should ideally contain glucose or sugar solution.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that, in the event of a medical emergency, staff should assist in any way possible. This includes treating the patient if possible, asking for ground-based medical consultations, moving ill passengers to a private area, and more.
The agency also advises that the flight crew communicate the passenger’s condition to the pilot. Ultimately, it’s the pilot who decides whether to divert the plane or take any other emergency measures.
Southwest Airlines and Micaela did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
@micaelawiree On a late flight from Orlando to Chicago my daughter started going low just before we landed while she was napping, her dad got up to ask for apple juice because she was asleep and very tired and couldn’t chew the snacks we had so she needed something to drink. The lady fight attendant was extremely rude and gave an attitude like it wasn’t dire to get up for juice, like it wasn’t a big deal that my daughter was about to go low and we were trying to prevent it and prevent a worse situation. She first insisted that she give us ‘orange juice’ instead of apple, but we said we’d prefer apple juice because that’s what we always give her, but she kept making smart remarks like “well we use orange juice and you should just use orange juice” .. like okay??? And? So she finally gave the apple juice after we debated with her. We land 15 minutes later and after giving her multiple large syringes of juice, her blood sugar wasn’t going up yet. As the plane was driving towards the gates, her dad went back and told the flight attendant that we’re having a medical emergency and when the plane arrives up to the boarding bridge we need to be accomadated off the plane to prevent anything more serious from happening while being stuck behind tons of people, she gave more attitude and said okay and got on the phone acting like she called someone for us.. but she didn’t, then she got on the intercom and stated that if anyone gets up again that they’ll stop the plane.. and if it’s not an ‘emergency’ to stay seated. But that’s the thing, a diabetic low isn’t an ‘emergency’, until IT IS.. so technically it IS a medical emergency because it’s very unpredictable. Unfortunately to others who don’t understand the condition, it’s not technically an emergency to them, of course, until it is. When a diabetic has a low, they can have a seizure at any given moment and experience loads of symptoms including dizziness, nausea and throwing up which can end up even more severe and dangerous because you’re throwing up the sugar and hydration that your body needs to stay alive. While these symptoms of a low are all happening, you literally cannot be stuck behind tons of people waiting for them to get their bags and get off. We needed help from the airlines to get through. So when the plane docked at the boarding gate, we all stand up and of course get stuck behind everyone else, no flight attendants in site checking in on my daughter as we’re struggling to keep her condition from escalating, while we’re standing there waiting for people in front of us to move along my daughter then started saying her stomach hurts and that she was hot, I was still giving her juice and there were people around even watching us still sitting down looking concerned for us, but no flight attendants did anything to help us. Like what did we have to do? Yell and scream? We had already informed the crew multiple times of her medical condition. Next thing you know, 10 minutes later we’re still standing up waiting to move and she starts throwing up everywhere, on everyone and on everything. THEN EVERYONE WANTS TO MOVE and let us through🙄 This is the REAL struggles of having a Type 1 Diabetic child and traveling. Some people don’t take you seriously and then it’s to late. Y’all should have seen the flight attendants face when she saw my daughter throwing up.🤦🏼♀️ and it was ALOT. It was extremely scary for us as a family, as my parents were with us and traumatized by this and witnessing how we were not helped by the airline. The scene was so hectic when she started throwing up and finally everyone moved out of our way and we rushed her off to render aid, that this is the only footage I could get of that whole situation, they wouldn’t give us the flight attendants name and we didn’t get a picture of her face either just her back walking away. Flight 1571 Orlando to Chicago. Thanks a lot @Southwest Airlines #type1diabetes #southwestairlines #flightattendant #diabetesawareness #badservice ♬ original sound – micaelawire
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