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Nothing makes us happier than brains and beauty on full display. Having said that, we're not shocked that Dr. Mikhail "Mike" Varshavski took the prize.
Varshavski, who people just call "Dr. Mike", is a doctor, animal lover, model, bonafide internet celebrity and frequent television presenter. He came to the US from Russia as a young child and made health his personal mission.
Here he is just hanging out with his husky, Roxy:
Here's Dr. Mike with Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest:
And finally, because we know what the internet loves, here he is with his other dog, Bear.
Bear is working to become a therapy dog so he can help Dr. Mike work with patients.
Dr. Mike has fully embraced his fame as "America's Hottest Doc" and uses the attention to try and spread messages of hope, health and happiness. If you've seen him on TV, watched his videos, or creeped on his Instagram it could be easy to forget that he's much more than just a presenter.
On a flight from New York to Tel-Aviv Dr. Mike proved that—above all else—he is a doctor.
Matt Faraco is a 26-year-old man from Atlanta, GA. He has never had any allergies and had nothing to eat before the flight.
Still, about two hours into the trip he started to feel strange. His hands began to swell up, followed by his throat.
It's worth noting that for a decent amount of the trip the plane would have been over open ocean with nowhere nearby to land for assistance.
Oh, and there was no EpiPen aboard the plane.
Matt explained:
"I was on the plane, I actually hadn't eaten anything, but I noticed my hands were swelling. I told the stewardess I was feeling unwell."
"The team on the plane asked for any doctors on board and Dr. Mike stepped forward. I felt my throat start to close. I don't normally have allergies and there was no EpiPen on the plane."
"Dr. Mike was able to use what was on board to help me, and he stayed with me and monitored my vitals for the rest of the flight. All I can say is how thankful I am. He really saved me."
Thankfully, the flight crew did have an emergency kit on board which included epinephrine—the primary active ingredient in an EpiPen.
The kit was obviously better than nothing, but there's still a problem with them. A trained medical professional was required to make use of it.
An EpiPen is designed to be used by pretty much anyone in these types of situations. What would have happened if no doctor had been aboard the flight?
Thankfully for Matt, Dr. Mike was there and able to work out dosage and inject the epinephrine into Matt's muscle. It wasn't ideal since the drug is not properly dosed for this and too much could have easily given Matt a heart attack.
And administering the drug was definitely painful; but the other option was even worse.
According to Dr. Mike:
"Had we left the situation to deteriorate, we would have risked having to open his airways with an incision."
So poor Matt, who had never had an allergic reaction to anything before, was now in a plane over open seas reacting to who-knows-what and faced with the options of getting painfully stabbed in the leg with a drug that might give him a heart attack or getting stabbed in the throat to open his airway later.
Thankfully, the epinephrine worked well enough to make it the remainder of the flight with Dr. Mike monitoring him closely.
Matt was taken to a hospital when the plane landed and the two men reunited in Jerusalem. Matt got his chance to say thank you, and Dr. Mike got to see that his patient was returned to full health.
They still aren't 100% certain what caused the reaction in the first place but at least one source believes a tick bite may have left Matt with an unknown allergy to red meat.
Twitter is all over this story and the lessons we could learn from it:
@NoNutTraveler @nypost Dr. Mike knew how to administer a syringe full of epinephrine...what would have happened if… https://t.co/fewvKfVaHi— Karen Palmer (@Karen Palmer) 1562622542.0
No epi-pen on board? Jiminy Crickets. Seems that would be one of the first items in a kit. 🤔 Instagram’s ‘hottest… https://t.co/Y6ml6E55y0— 🐄❌✝️ American Pitbull 🇺🇸❌🐄 (@🐄❌✝️ American Pitbull 🇺🇸❌🐄) 1562607528.0
Admittedly I'm ole' school but, I don't see the big issue. Why not simply inject 3 ml IV of the 1:10,000? Granted… https://t.co/PXEFqqRlN4— David Maatman (@David Maatman) 1562676537.0
@NoNutTraveler What’s so important here is this guy didn’t know he had an allergy. People think it’s just our FA fa… https://t.co/4y7Q9aOxeD— Portia Mount (@Portia Mount) 1562630078.0
@allergychampion @NoNutTraveler Probably the cost. @WestJet used to have autoinjectors, but discontinued the practice. Very disappointing.— Breffney (@Breffney) 1562638206.0
@NoNutTraveler @nypost This also demonstrates that people don't always know they have an allergy. There has to be a… https://t.co/1FXNarQGxG— Food Allergy Friends (@Food Allergy Friends) 1562658073.0
Dr. Mike had some final thoughts on the situation.:
"I can't believe on airplanes, which is an enclosed space and food is being shared, that there is not an EpiPen."
"I had to take time to sit and read the instructions, break off the plastic cover on top of the needle, while an EpiPen is made to be used very quickly and that's something a lay person can give."
If safe traveling is a concern, this travel comprehensive first aid kit, available here, is perfect for your needs. Only the tweezers must be removed to pass TSA approval as a carry-on item for air travel.
Amazon
An epipen or other emergency supplies can be added at your discretion. The included carabiner easily clips onto a carry-on bag, tote bag or backpack.