a special passanger

Something extraordinary happened on my recent flight to Israel.>> The only clue that something extraordinary was happening on my recent> flight to Israel was a half hour delay in boarding. Otherwise, everything> seemed to be quite unremarkable as we buckled up, raised our fold-down> trays and brought our chair backs to their full upright position prior to> take off.>> The captain made his usual remarks about course, speed, altitude and> unexpected turbulence that can happen any time. Within minutes, roaring> engines peeled us away from the ground and we sliced through low hanging,> cotton-candy clouds behind which was hiding a magnificently luminescent,> seemingly enlarged, near full moon. Drinks were brought around, dinner was> served and all the 777's hundreds of video screens sprang to life with the> usual mix of TV sitcom reruns, slightly stale movies and kid fare.>> When the seat belt indicator dimmed just after dinner, I eagerly alighted> from my seat and took a spin around the cabin to encourage the blood in my> legs to reacquaint itself with the rest of my body and to meet and rub> shoulders with new and hopefully a few familiar fellow passengers.>> As I approached the rear of the aircraft I could make out a hospital-blue> curtain which seemed to hover above the last 5 rows of the center seats in
> hospital gear attached to hoses, pumps and wires adjacent to what was a> flying intensive care unit (ICU), complete with EKG monitor, feeding tubes> and intravenous drip equipment.>> My first instinct was to satisfy my curiosity and try to steal a look at> the patient inside, but I suddenly recalled a talk given by my rabbi in> which he underscored the enormous importance the Torah places upon> respecting every human\'s right to privacy -- especially the ill -- and> walked on past the impromptu ICU and into the aft galley of the plane.>> Swinging around the rear of the aircraft, I re-entered the passenger cabin> and my eyes instinctively darted again towards the blue curtain. I nearly> bumped right into the man attending to the patient, someone I recognized> as an old acquaintance from my native Brooklyn. Wearing a kipah on his> head, a stethoscope around his neck and rubber gloves on his hands, he was> occupied drawing some fluid into a syringe.>> " Shalom aleichem," I said heartily. He looked up and remembered me as> well.>> " Aleichem shalom," he responded warmly. Casting a glance towards the> makeshift ICU, I asked him if he was allowed to tell me anything regarding> what this was all about.>> " She had major heart surgery in the United States," he replied, and we\'re> bringing her back to Israel to be with her family.>> Tens of questions instantly began forming in my mind. Why was she being> moved while in such a precarious state of health? How did they get the> airline to agree to transport someone so ill? How much did it cost to> arrange for this mini flying hospital?>> As if reading my mind, my friend said, "Don\'t ask me anything I\'m not> supposed to answer. A lot of people had to pull strings for all this to",1]
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> the shape of a bathtub. Upon closer examination I could see all type of> hospital gear attached to hoses, pumps and wires adjacent to what was a> flying intensive care unit (ICU), complete with EKG monitor, feeding tubes> and intravenous drip equipment.>> My first instinct was to satisfy my curiosity and try to steal a look at> the patient inside, but I suddenly recalled a talk given by my rabbi in> which he underscored the enormous importance the Torah places upon> respecting every human's right to privacy -- especially the ill -- and> walked on past the impromptu ICU and into the aft galley of the plane.>> Swinging around the rear of the aircraft, I re-entered the passenger cabin> and my eyes instinctively darted again towards the blue curtain. I nearly> bumped right into the man attending to the patient, someone I recognized> as an old acquaintance from my native Brooklyn. Wearing a kipah on his> head, a stethoscope around his neck and rubber gloves on his hands, he was> occupied drawing some fluid into a syringe.>> " Shalom aleichem," I said heartily. He looked up and remembered me as> well.>> " Aleichem shalom," he responded warmly. Casting a glance towards the> makeshift ICU, I asked him if he was allowed to tell me anything regarding> what this was all about.>> " She had major heart surgery in the United States," he replied, and we're> bringing her back to Israel to be with her family.>> Tens of questions instantly began forming in my mind. Why was she being> moved while in such a precarious state of health? How did they get the> airline to agree to transport someone so ill? How much did it cost to> arrange for this mini flying hospital?>> As if reading my mind, my friend said, "Don't ask me anything I'm not> supposed to answer. A lot of people had to pull strings for all this to
>> As I looked deeply into his face I could plainly see rings of exhaustion> around his eyes. Reading my mind again he told me of the many hours of> careful preparation that took place before the patient could be brought on> board the plane. He had been awake many hours before dawn to prepare for> our late afternoon flight, and I obviously can\'t sleep during the flight,> he said sweeping his hand toward the EKG and respiration monitor.>> "How long do you get to stay in Israel?" I asked, figuring he\'d take> advantage of the \'mission\' to get at least a few days of R&R in sunny> Israel.>> "About nine hours," he smiled.> "They don\'t pay for this. You have to volunteer if you want to do it."> I remembered that he worked as an Emergency Medical Technician for a major> ambulance company in New York and so I casually asked him if the firm paid> extra compensation for this extraordinarily difficult assignment.>> "Actually, " he said sheepishly, "they don\'t pay for this. You have to> volunteer if you want to do it." I started feeling very small next to this> truly generous man.>> "Well then, it\'s nice of them to at least give you the day off to allow> you to do something as amazing as this. ">> "They didn\'t. It\'s coming out of my vacation time." Generous didn\'t begin> to describe this guy.>> " You\'re kidding aren\'t you?" I incredulously asked.>> "It\'s no big deal. A few weeks ago, I had requested to take today off> anyway.">> " But how could you have known a few weeks ago that this patient would> need transporting precisely today?">> He chuckled, "Who knew? Tonight my wife and I are celebrating our 25th",1]
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> happen and if word got out, future missions like this could suffer. ">> As I looked deeply into his face I could plainly see rings of exhaustion> around his eyes. Reading my mind again he told me of the many hours of> careful preparation that took place before the patient could be brought on> board the plane. He had been awake many hours before dawn to prepare for> our late afternoon flight, and I obviously can't sleep during the flight,> he said sweeping his hand toward the EKG and respiration monitor.>> "How long do you get to stay in Israel?" I asked, figuring he'd take> advantage of the 'mission' to get at least a few days of R&R in sunny> Israel.>> "About nine hours," he smiled.> "They don't pay for this. You have to volunteer if you want to do it."> I remembered that he worked as an Emergency Medical Technician for a major> ambulance company in New York and so I casually asked him if the firm paid> extra compensation for this extraordinarily difficult assignment.>> "Actually, " he said sheepishly, "they don't pay for this. You have to> volunteer if you want to do it." I started feeling very small next to this> truly generous man.>> "Well then, it's nice of them to at least give you the day off to allow> you to do something as amazing as this. ">> "They didn't. It's coming out of my vacation time." Generous didn't begin> to describe this guy.>> " You're kidding aren't you?" I incredulously asked.>> "It's no big deal. A few weeks ago, I had requested to take today off> anyway.">> " But how could you have known a few weeks ago that this patient would> need transporting precisely today?">> He chuckled, "Who knew? Tonight my wife and I are celebrating our 25th
anniversary. Looking down at the floor of the plane he paused for> just a few seconds and said, We had plans to get away for the day.">> "So what happened to your plans?">> "When the opportunity arose to transport this patient, I mentioned it to> my wife and she thought my being here would make a terrific anniversary> gift for the two of us. ">> When our flight began its steep descent into Tel Aviv the stewardess'> voice rang out over the public address system and thanked everyone for> flying. She then apologized for the delay in take off due to our very> special passenger in the rear of the aircraft.>> She couldn't have known just how very special, indeed.