A doctor is being praised after he built a homemade inhaler whilst treating an asthmatic toddler on a transatlantic flight. Dr Khurshid Guru, director of robotic surgery at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in New York, was a traveling back to the States from a conference in Spain when a toddler on the plane started to have an asthma attack.

Dr Guru approached the parents of the toddler, who admitted that they had forgotten to pack his inhaler in their hand luggage. With 3 hours left of the flight to go, and the boy increasingly finding it difficult to breathe, Khurshid knew he had to improvise. Channeling his inner MacGyver, the doc managed to cobble together a makeshift inhaler using just a plastic water bottle, a cup, some tape and an oxygen tank.

https://twitter.com/KhurshidGuru/status/644857926469976064

Thanks to Dr Guru’s skill and quick thinking, the child made a full recovery. After the story became public, Khurshid gave us an important reminder: “It’s a personal wake up call for families to make sure you carry these small things.”

Check and double check, folks. You might not be so lucky to have Dr Guru on board with you next time.