ST. LOUIS — Southwest Airlines vs. John Gaal was never a fair fight.
In one corner was a behemoth corporation focused on profit margins. In the other corner was a man possessed to do right, haunted by the death of his son.
I’d put my money on Gaal every time. In December, he won.
Regular readers will remember that I wrote about Gaal and his wife, Mary, last year after they helped save a man’s life on a Southwest Airlines flight.
The couple carries Narcan with them. That’s the prescription nose spray that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. It’s carried by police and firefighters, and it is increasingly found in public places like libraries.
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Gaal, with the help of a doctor on the Southwest flight, administered the Narcan to a man who was suffering from an overdose.
“Stepping in to help save a total stranger is a tribute to John Jr.,†Gaal says, referring to his son, who committed suicide after a battle with mental health issues brought on by concussions.
After his son’s death, Gaal advocated to get rid of the stigma attached to mental health issues — and opioid abuse — in the construction industry, where he worked most of his life.
“While I can’t fix the past, I can damn sure positively impact the future,†he says.
Mary, while doing ministry for the homeless, has administered the drug on ºüÀêÊÓƵ streets to people suffering an overdose.
Narcan works. That’s why Gaal was upset that Southwest was one of the only major airlines to not include it in flight medical kits. He was also upset that the Federal Aviation Administration didn’t require Narcan.
So he started writing letters to Southwest’s CEO and to members of the U.S. House and Senate. And to me.
Gaal’s movement grew. He appeared on other local media outlets. An attorney in Illinois, Sam Cahnman, started advocating with folks in politics.
Last week, Gaal sent me and Cahnman . It was about airline medical kits needing to include EpiPen injectors, which counteract allergic reactions. Buried in the story was a paragraph that said Southwest Airlines had begun to retrofit its medical kits with Narcan.
Indeed, it’s true, a Southwest spokesman told me last week. The project started in December and by the end of 2024, every Southwest Airlines flight should carry Narcan.
“With customer safety and comfort at front of mind, Southwest is enhancing its onboard emergency medical kits above and beyond current FAA requirements,†the spokesman said in an email. “The new kits, which are being installed throughout our fleet over the course of 2024, feature an auto-injector dosage of epinephrine, as well as doses of naloxone (Narcan) nasal spray and ondansetron (Zofran) tablets.â€
Both Gaal and Cahnman applaud the change. But they’re not about to stop.
“I think it is a disgrace that in today’s world, too often, we have to shame people and firms into doing the right thing,†Gaal says. “I realize progress is often made in small steps. But Mary, my wife, wonders if Southwest Airlines is taking the extra step and training their cabin crews in how to administer the Narcan.â€
He points out that it takes less than 30 minutes to learn how to administer Narcan.
Cahnman is still pushing Congress to pass a bill requiring Narcan to be carried on all airline flights. He recently met with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to encourage him to get behind legislation that has been filed.
“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug the world has ever seen,†Cahnman says. “We have to do everything we can to attack this epidemic. But the first step is to keep knowing and unknowing Fentanyl users alive.â€