A PATIENT WHO CHANGED MY PRACTICE

“Is there a doctor around?”

My heart sank as I overheard a member of staff in the duty free shop at Vancouver Airport asking for help with someone who had collapsed. He was the third such person that I had seen that month. I had felt so useless on the two previous occasions that I decided not to respond. I was on holiday after all. I paid for my goods and started to walk back to the departure lounge. As luck would have it my route took me past the scene and I felt unable to walk on. The cardiopulmonary resuscitation was already in progress. I announced my profession and started …