ap.crawford@skipatrol.ca<\/a>)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nIn March 2025, Michael Bager was enroute from Puerto Vallarta home to Winnipeg when he noticed an approximately 80-year-old man on the bus taking the passengers from the terminal to the aircraft. The bus door was open with a strong smell of diesel fuel wafting in, which was playing havoc with the man\u2019s breathing. Michael noted that he used his puffer and then covered his nose and mouth with the collar of his sweater and then with a facecloth. Once on-board the aircraft his respiratory status had somewhat stabilized.<\/p>\n
Approximately two hours into the four-hour flight an announcement was made enquiring if any medical personnel were on board. Michael had noticed activity near the elderly man\u2019s seat and he moved to the site, identifying himself as a patroller trained in advanced first aid and as a retired thoracic surgical associate.<\/p>\n
Michael assessed the patient and noted his respiratory distress. An oxygen saturation monitor revealed a saturation level in the low 70s, trending downward and a pulse rate of approximately 120 and rising. He requested an oxygen tank and mask. Once the patient was receiving oxygen, his saturation level rose to approximately 94 per cent and his pulse rate dropped to the low 90s.<\/p>\n
As part of his assessment, Michael determined that the patient was a 38-year pack-a-day smoker; had been diagnosed with COPD five years ago, was on a steroid inhaler but had no other medical conditions or allergies. While the patient\u2019s respiratory status began to stabilize, every time Michael attempted to take him off the oxygen his oxygen saturation levels dropped, and his heart rate rose, so the oxygen was kept in place.<\/p>\n
The patient advised Michael that he would be in touch with his respirologist the next day. Speaking with the man\u2019s wife, Michael stressed that the patient should go immediately to hospital upon landing, that he required ongoing continuous care, and that he needed to be transferred by ambulance. The couple agreed.<\/p>\n
The flight attendants had also been in consultation with the airline\u2019s medical director who advised a course of Salbutamol (Ventolin) via aninhaler if required. Michael proceeded on the director\u2019s advice assisting with the inhalations, and the patient\u2019s respiratory status appeared to stabilize. He remained on oxygen for the remainder of the flight with Michael monitoring his status.<\/p>\n
Upon arrival in Winnipeg, the plane was met by EMS. The paramedic who received the report stated, \u201cIt\u2019s lucky you were on that flight; you saved his life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The major challenge Michael faced was that this incident occurred half-way through a four-hour flight and immediate transport to hospital was not possible, plus the treatment resources were limited. Michael used his CSP training to do the best he could with what he had available and made the best possible use of the first aid equipment and supplies in a less-than-ideal environment.<\/p>\n
The CSP was pleased to present Michael Bager with the John D. Harper Lifesaving Award in September 2025 in recognition of his life-saving actions.<\/p>\nMichael Bager receiving his award from Manitoba Division President Lori Natuik (photo provided by Lori Natuik)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By A.P. Crawford (ap.crawford@skipatrol.ca) In March 2025, Michael Bager was enroute from Puerto Vallarta home to Winnipeg when he noticed an approximately 80-year-old man on the bus taking the passengers from the terminal to the aircraft. The bus door was<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6132,"featured_media":21945,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[552,557,217],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-552","category-april-2026","category-public-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skipatrol.ca\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skipatrol.ca\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skipatrol.ca\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skipatrol.ca\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skipatrol.ca\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.skipatrol.ca\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21995,"href":"https:\/\/www.skipatrol.ca\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21992\/revisions\/21995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skipatrol.ca\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skipatrol.ca\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skipatrol.ca\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skipatrol.ca\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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