Date: 201909
Light: Night
Aircraft: B737-700
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Cruise
Reporter function: Flight Attendant (On Duty); Flight Attendant In Charge
Reporter qualification: Flight Attendant Current
Human factors: Distraction; Physiological - Other; Situational Awareness
Anomaly: Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness / Injury; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Passenger Misconduct
Detector: Person Flight Attendant
When detected: In-flight
Result: General Physical Injury / Incapacitation
Contributing factors: Company Policy; Human Factors; Manuals
Primary problem: Human Factors

Narrative: During service the mother and daughter seated in 2A and 2C enjoyed Baileys on the rocks with coupons; and snacks. About halfway through the flight a woman from 2C comes and sits on my jumpseat and states; 'my husband is a pilot here. Do you know Captain XXX?' I reply; 'no.' She continued. 'He always tells me about medical emergencies and I know all the procedures so I wanted to let you know my mother's oxygen level is 58% saturation right now. She needs oxygen.' I asked background information including how she knew the saturation number; was the patient on any meds; and if she was traveling with a POC (Portable Oxygen Concentrator). The daughter became very indignant. She finally responded NO she didn't have a POC; was not on any medication; and her mother has a monitor for her saturation levels and she was concerned about blood clots. As I reached for the oxygen I asked why she did not alert us of this potential problem when she boarded. The daughter became irate; asked for my name; and said this never happened before. I gave her my name and spelled it and proceeded to tend to her mother at her seat. I stayed with her mother until her oxygen levels began to rise. Within minutes her oxygen saturation raised to 98 percent but her pulse was 107. I asked if she needed a cool compress or if there was anything we needed to do to lower her pulse. She stated no; her mom was fine and just needed another couple minutes to relax and breathe deeply. The patient remained conscious and talkative throughout. Was never in any pain. Did not lose color; was not feverish or flushed. After another couple minutes the pulse went down to 85 bpm and I went to the galley to call the Flight Attendants in the back and call the Captain. I gave the Captain the details. 78 year old woman who initially had low oxygen saturation. Captain asked if the passenger had a POC; why she was not traveling with oxygen if this was an issue; and why we were not made aware upon boarding. I let him know that those questions upset the patient's daughter. I asked how much longer we had in the flight and he replied 1.5 hours. He told me to let him know if she went into a second oxygen bottle. As I was hanging up from the Captain; the elderly passenger from 2D rushed to me and said the oxygen bottle wasn't working. I went to the ill passenger and found the daughter turning the oxygen off while complaining that it isn't working. I turned the bottle back on and asked her not to touch it as she is not a Flight Attendant. I pointed to the expanded oxygen bag and let her know that indicates a working oxygen bottle. I asked her to again check the oxygen saturation and it was 97%. The daughter stated that her husband is a pilot for us and doesn't like when they have to divert for medical emergencies so she didn't want to say anything during boarding. I went to grab my iPad so I can begin getting information for the airnotes. The daughter came to the galley again to thank me for my help and again asked my name. I again gave it to her and started asking her information to fill out the form. She said; 'I don't have all that information; I don't know her that well.' Confused; I tried to clarify; 'I'm sorry did you say this is your mom?' The daughter again became irate and screamed; 'I JUST MET HER 6 MONTHS AGO! This has never happened before!' I inquired as to why her mother had a monitor if this is not an ongoing issue. She responded; 'well this has never happened in the air before!' I went to the ill passenger to get information directly from her. The daughter gave me her mother's name but in her phone she was listed with a different last name. The daughter let me see the phone to copy the phone number; and an address. I also took the daughter's name as a witness).I asked if the mother was on medication. The daughter said no; then said she was diabetic. I confirmed; 'is she on the medication insulin; then?' The daughter said; 'well yea I guess she is on medication.' I asked when she'd taken insulin and was told about six hours ago but her blood sugar was fine and she wasn't on any other meds. The daughter was not sure about allergies. I asked if the mother was on oxygen regularly. The daughter said no. The mother chimed in that she was given oxygen before departing but didn't think she would need anymore. The daughter then replied that she thought that would be enough oxygen to make it through the day. The daughter again stated that her husband hates to divert for medicals and that she is live texting him as the situation is unfolding. I collected all the information on the airnotes and again went to make the Captain aware of the additional information I'd received. He asked what the minimum saturation should be. I asked the patient and she said it should not go below 88%. We kept watch to make sure it did not go below that again. I asked the pair if they wanted paramedics called at the moment and they responded no. I asked if they wanted paramedics to meet the aircraft; they responded no. I called the Captain back to let him know the response and that we would keep her monitored. We hung up and the daughter again came to my jumpseat. She said she wanted my name so her husband could write a thank you right now since he is already on the ground. I gave her my name again and spelled it. I could see her phone as she typed in my name and a text from her read; 'I am so pissed at this flight attendant right now.' She typed in my name and sent the message. I pointed to the message and read it to her and asked; 'is that the thank you?' I immediately picked the interphone back up and let the Captain know that she was repeatedly using her husband as a threat as I try to fill out my report and care for her mother. Not long after; the pilots asked to come out for function breaks. I told the Flight Attendants in the back what was going on and we all decided it was best to have paramedics and a supervisor meet the flight. Pilots were on board with that and made the request. When the first O2 bottle got to 500psi I changed it out and we sat early due to turbulence. Before we sat I had the daughter check her levels. Saturation at 99% and pulse at 78%. When we got to the gate the paramedics took her off in a lift chair and tried to chat with the patient. The daughter emphatically refused all assistance. The paramedics left and the airport service coordinator radioed that he was not going to ask for ID or any more information because they were not allowed to do anything and he walked off. The patient's personal wheelchair was brought up and an airport pusher took her to baggage claim. I would like a response from the chief pilot regarding the behavior of the Captain and his wife. I would like it noted on the Mother's profile that she cannot travel without adequate oxygen. I would suggest that Captain and his wife have their flight privileges suspended due to ongoing threats; interfering with crew duties; and putting the crew (and company) in a situation that could have resulted in a diversion due to withholding pertinent information and providing untruths while we were trying to assess the situation and give adequate medical care. A response is requested.




Synopsis: A Flight Attendant reported providing a passenger with a medical condition oxygen and the ill passenger's daughter became rude and unruly.