Originally Posted by
2dPilot
SLF here, but an EMT. - What I listened to certainly does fit the profile of a stroke from training and similar to witnessed events.
The coughing was probably due to loss of facial/throat muscular control, I would expect to see the face fallen on one side. Unlikely to be a TIA (Transient Ischemic Event) due to the length and apparent degree of the event.
Not very good news that she seemed to be working alone. Stroke awareness (in the UK at least) goes under the acronym FAST (Face drooping; Arm weakness, Speech = Time to call emergency medics), every minute untreated is a bit more dead brain tissue. I hope she'll make a good recovery though.
I would doubt medicine/alcohol related causes as she seemed to function well earlier in the shift. An allergic reaction (anaphylatic reaction) to something can't be ruled-out either.
Glad to see pilots keeping their situational awareness keen, I presume it could have been much worse with possibility of a collision.
At the beginning of the episode she doesn’t seem to be able to hold the push to talk button down consistently. Toward the end she’s transmitting dead air open mike for a minute or so. I’m guessing this was due to a loss of motor control. I have no medical credentials but I have seen it up close 4 times in my life. The first was at our wedding 35 years ago. A guest acting the same way had to be driven home because he was “drunk”. He was a doctor, in fact he was on call during the proceedings. Everyone was wondering how he could be so irresponsible as to drink so much. Turned out he hadn’t had a drop. He died of a stroke that night.