“Miracle on the Hudson” … and the “Sully” movie

Sully, the movie is being released in a couple of weeks. I’m asked if I’m in it. Short answer, no. Disappointed? A bit. So how did this big Hollywood movie with Tom Hanks and made by Clint Eastwood miss my role of a lifetime? My guess is that they cut me in editing the film and I’m on some acetate lying in a dumpster. My version of the story is that I was there in fact and did make the reality version of “Miracle on the Hudson”. For those that didn’t read my chapter in “Brace for Impact”, I did respond to the scene of the rescue being the first and only physician there. I did so after being broadsided by an NYPD truck and still limped over to help. When I got there, the first passengers and crew were coming into the passenger ferry terminal on the West Side of Manhattan. I sent the injured stewardess to the hospital by ambulance and met the rest of the flight crew, Sully and Capt. Jeff Skiles before all the passengers were accounted for. Not to miss my other job as a Senior Aviation Medical Examiner for the FAA, I called the regional flight surgeon and the Federal Air Surgeon to let them know that everyone was safe when they didn’t even know any plane was down in the Hudson. But most “too good to be true” part was that 2 of my neighbors were passengers on the plane. Diane Higgins and her mother Lulu were the last passengers off the plane. They were my connection to the event more than anything. So in the movie “Sully”, Diane Higgins is listed in the cast as being played by Valerie Mahaffey. There is a doctor listed in the cast as “Dr. Elizabeth Davis” being played by Anna Gunn. being played by Anna Gunn. However, there is no “Dr. Elizabeth Davis” and I get no mention. I was hoping to have Brad Pitt take my part but they made it a woman. So there is a fictional doctor being played by an actress. That’s my claim to Hollywood Legend and I’m sticking to it. Should be a great flick. Hope you all see it on the big screen.