A 35-year-old woman, Maricela Hernandez Quezada, suffered a stroke during a flight from Turkey to Mexico. A doctor on board recognized the symptoms and took immediate action, leading to an emergency landing in Houston, as reported by CW39.
During a flight, Quezada experienced a medical emergency with loss of sensation in her tongue and difficulty speaking. She said, "I feel my tongue come out and I couldn't speak," according to ABC13. A doctor on board gave her oxygen, and the flight was rerouted to Houston. She was first treated at Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital, then airlifted to Memorial Hermann in The Woodlands for emergency surgery. A neuro-interventional surgeon removed a blood clot from her brain. Medical professionals say strokes can happen at any age and note that long flights with little movement can increase the risk of blood clots. They recommend staying hydrated and moving every few hours during travel.
Quezada experienced a stroke during a flight from Turkey to Mexico, and an onboard doctor recognized the F.A.S.T. symptoms—face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty—leading to an emergency landing in Houston. Dr. Haris Kamal, Medical Director of Stroke at Memorial Hermann Northeast, said, “I expect her to continue this trajectory of improvement to hopefully being near-normal or normal in a few months’ time, where anyone who would be speaking with her would probably not be able to tell that she had literally just been through a major neurological event,” as mentioned by CW39. The timely response allowed for immediate treatment by the neuro-interventional team in Houston.
