Mark Andrews is still rising to the occasion under pressure even after the Baltimore Ravens season has ended.
The star tight end teamed up with a nurse and a doctor on Jan. 29 to help save a fellow passenger who was having a medical emergency on a Southwest Airlines flight from Baltimore to Phoenix.
The doctor and nurse who happened to be on board said the woman’s blood pressure was low and they couldn’t find a strong pulse, according to a post on X by another passenger onboard.
“It was genuinely scary,” passenger Andrew Springs wrote.
Andrews, 28, who has Type 1 diabetes, popped up and asked if the problem was her blood sugar. He added that he had a diabetic testing kit with him on the plane.
The three-time Pro Bowl tight end instructed the doctor and nurse on how to use it, and they were able to get the woman stabilized. Paramedics then met the plane right after it landed to attend to the woman, according to Springs.
“In addition to the fast-acting flight attendants, the real heroes are the nurse and doctor who also happened to be on the plane,” Andrews said in a statement through the Ravens. “Thankfully they were able to provide the woman the quick assistance she needed.”
The emergency came just a day after the Ravens saw their brilliant season come to an end one game shy of the Super Bowl in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Andrews made his return to action in the game after missing seven games with ligament damage in his left ankle.
Living with diabetes since his childhood, Andrews wears a blood-sugar monitor during games and tests his levels every time he comes off the field, according to a video shared by the Ravens. Andrews has talked about how he needs to take insulin if his levels are high or Gatorade if his blood sugar is low.
He’s also experienced a similar situation to the passenger in distress. His roommate found him unresponsive in their dorm room due to very low blood sugar during his freshman year at the University of Oklahoma. He put fruit snacks in Andrews’ mouth to help save his life before emergency personnel arrived, according to the Ravens.
