Angel without wings saves man’s life at airport

KUCHING: A young woman is being hailed as a hero after performing life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and using a public automated external defibrillator (AED) on a man who collapsed at Kuching International Airport (KIA) earlier this week.

The incident, which occurred on April 30 around 11:30 am, involved a 55-year-old man, known as Mr Law from Sibu.

Dr Tang Sie Hing, a cardiologist at Timberland Medical Centre who attended to Mr Law, said the latter had complained of chest pain and stomach pain for three days after a recent trip to and back from China.

“He had his scope done on April 29 in Sibu, but the pain did not ease and worsened at 2:00 am on April 30.

“So he decided to board a flight from Sibu to Kuching that morning and was travelling alone.

“When he landed at KIA and exited the domestic arrival hall, he collapsed suddenly.

“A young lady behind him immediately started CPR on him continuously (solo person CPR) for 30 minutes.

“In between, the AED at the airport was used and applied two shocks, and terminated his pulseless ventricular fibrillation to atrial fibrillation,” he said in a post on Facebook.

Dr Tang then said Mr Law was then transferred by public ambulance to Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) emergency department, and immediate computed tomography (CT) excluded brain haemorrhage, and then the doctors there suspected a near fatal cardiac event.

“Upon family and friends’ request for me to manage, I personally escorted him to Timberland Medical Centre, and coronary angiogram showed two vessels 100 per cent blocked, and ad hoc coronary angioplasty was done and the heart is stabilised.

“He has regained full consciousness, and has suffered no neurological deficit,” he said.

Dr Tang said the patient, family members and friends have expressed heartfelt gratitude to the young lady for her timely effort as without her intervention the outcome would be totally unimaginable.

“The family members of Mr Law have requested me to publish this post in order to contact the awesome young lady who did immediate CPR.

“If you have the contact of this lady, please WhatsApp the details to Madam Ngu at 013-8046882. They want to thank her for what she did,” he said.

Meanwhile, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) Clinical Simulation Centre also praised the woman for her swift and skilled intervention.

“Well done to this ‘Good Samaritan’ who selflessly administered CPR, and used a publicly available AED to save a victim of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) right here in Kuching.

“Her efforts in training herself and the facility’s investment in the placement of the AED unit truly paid off,” the centre said.

Meanwhile, netizens flooded social media with praise for the woman who performed the life-saving act, with many sending well wishes and expressing admiration for her bravery.

Facebook user, AlphaManik Maling, wrote, “This kind of Samaritan deserves a medal of appreciation from the Sarawak government. Not everyone can do it. Please tag this lady so someone will pay attention to her contribution.”

Another user, Ardini Anna Dien, commented, “Performing CPR for 30 minutes can be exhausting. And the woman’s body size looks small. Salute to this girl! Her parents must be proud of you. Bless you, girl!”

Echoing the sentiment, Facebook user, Fres Fai, added, “It would be great if CPR training were made a compulsory subject in schools and universities, and part of mandatory onboarding for new employees.”