Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews helps save a woman's life on a Southwest Airlines flight
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews helped a woman who was having a mid-flight emergency on a Southwest Airlines flight from Baltimore to Phoenix, Arizona, on Thursday morning, according to the Ravens.
In a statement to WJZ, the Ravens confirmed that it was Andrews on the plane and included a quote from Andrews: "In addition to the fast-acting flight attendants, the real heroes are the nurse and doctor who also happened to be on the plane. Thankfully, they were able to provide the woman the quick assistance she needed."
The scary moments were detailed in a thread posted on X, formerly Twitter, by user Andrew Springs (@NaturalSprings).
WJZ spoke with Springs in a Zoom interview on Thursday.
"Once this happened," Baltimore native Andrew Springs said. "It was in the middle of the plane. Everybody was alert."
Springs, a Baltimore native, was also on the flight. He was sitting a seat away from Mark Andrews.
He told WJZ that a woman sitting in front of them started losing consciousness.
"I hear everything," Springs said. "I heard how low her heart rate was. We're talking 35-40 beats a minute. Her pulse was extremely weak at one point she needed auxiliary oxygen."
A nurse and doctor on the flight began helping the woman, but then —
"Mark pipes up," Springs said. "Well, first of all, I didn't even know it was Mark. I had no idea he was sitting next to me… he basically says, 'Do you know, could her blood sugar could be low? I have a diabetic test kit.'"
Springs says Andrews showed the nurse and doctor how to use the kit, which he carries with him because he has Type 1 diabetes.
Andrews is very open about his diagnosis.
Last summer, WJZ interviewed him while he was hosting a camp for children with the American Diabetes Association.
"I'm not scared to show people that I am a Type 1 diabetic," Andrews said. "I'm going to wear it on my sleeve."
Springs says soon after Andrews stepped in, the woman was given some orange juice and started feeling better.
"It was touch and go there," Springs said. "This could've been a very different story depending on the outcome. Obviously, I'm very relieved, very thrilled she's okay."
After the flight, Springs says Andrews left quietly.
He later put out a statement praising the nurse, doctor and flight attendants who helped out.
Springs says he's not surprised that Andrews is a humble hero.
"If you've been a Ravens fan for the last five years, you know exactly who Mark Andrews is," Springs said. "So, you could almost see exactly what was going to happen in that moment, that an unsung hero was going to step up."
When that flight landed in Phoenix, medical personnel were there to offer the woman further assistance.
Andrews played in the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 28, two months after having surgery on his left ankle.
Andrews' return came after he beat the odds of what was first thought to be a season-ending injury on Nov. 16, 2023.