Edmonds Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

In her long career as a physician, Laura Ballard attended to many emergencies, under various circumstances.

But it took her until retirement to save a life at 35,000 feet.

On May 22, Ballard and her husband were halfway through their four-hour Alaska Airlines flight from Detroit to Seattle – they were visiting family – when the captain voice came over the intercom, requesting medical personnel.

"I'm a retired physician," said Ballard, a 30-year Edmonds resident, who was seated in the front of the plane. "So I thought, 'Well, hopefully, somebody who's still more active in their practice...