A flight supervisor, flying the Manchester
to Iraklion run for First Choice Flights, luckily knew quite a bit more than
how to strap on a life vest and the location of the emergency exits.
The supervisor, Carol
Miller, helped deliver a premature baby on a Crete-bound flight last April
and managed to keep the tiny baby, weighing less than half a kilo, alive at
30,000 feet by using a drinking straw to clear his lungs
Now, after six
months, the baby is doing well and Carol is a national hero in her home
country.
The touching drama
unfolded when passenger Nicola Delamere, 27, went into labour at only 25
weeks, as she and her husband, Dominic, 28, were on their way to a Cretan
holiday
Immediately, a
fast-thinking Carol, 47, sprang into action and delivered little Alfie, who
weighed in at a mere 1.1 pounds (499 grams) as father Dominic looked on in
shock.
However, Carol
realised immediately that Alfie was not breathing and, at three months
premature, would have little chance of survival – even in a hospital
incubator.
Without
hesitation, she clamped the umbilical cord and began to perform CPR on the
baby.
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She used a drinking straw to gently breathe into and inflate
his lungs, then performed mouth-to-mouth and heart massage.
Little Alfie
was so small he could fit into the palm of Carol’s hand, but despite the
odds of survival being so low, she persisted with CPR for 40 minutes until
they returned to Gatwick and were met by the emergency services. Alfie was
rushed to hospital where he made a full recovery. Carol, who cares for her
elderly mother, has stayed in touch with Nicola and Dominic, who now refer
to Carol as “Alfie’s angel.”
In England, Carol’s
heroic efforts were praised by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Prince
Charles, and she was presented with a Pride of Britain Award in October,
along with other “celebrities,” including Ewan McGregor, Ant and Dec, Jamie
Oliver and Stephen Fry.
Was Nicole
disappointed in not getting her holiday on Crete?
“I’m sure it would
have been lovely,” she said, “but nothing could compare to this bundle of
joy.”
And a spokesperson for First Choice
Flights added, “I guess we gave the stork a run for his money.”
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