Malaysian philanthropist, Uncle Kentang, is sharing his frustration online over people not knowing how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).
Taking to his Facebook page, he shared how he received an emergency call for an ambulance, after a man had collapsed while playing badminton. Due to him and his team having their hands full with other cases, he urged the others at the scene to head to a nearby Mamak restaurant to borrow and use their AED while he made his way to the scene.
However, when he got there, he was disappointed to see that the AED was left aside as no one knew how to use it.
The AED was left on the ground, and nobody used it
He wrote, “I arrived at the scene about 10 minutes later and rushed to see if I could help. The ambulance hadn’t arrived yet, I entered the badminton court and from a distance, I saw a man lying on the ground. One of the other players was performing CPR on the patient. It was just that they were not doing it deep enough. But, it was good that they were doing it, and any effort to revive the patient is worthy of praise.”
“I took over the battle to save his life. I performed CPR on the patient and asked someone to turn on the AED. I was shocked that someone had brought the AED, but it was lying on the ground, and no one was using it. I was so tired, but I couldn’t give up. I had almost no chance to save him, because a long time had passed since I received the news.”
“But, when it comes to CPR, we must try our best and not give up because this is a life!”
This image is for illustration purposes only.
He managed to get someone else to work the AED and continued to perform CPR on the man when the man’s wife and child arrived at the scene.
“The patient’s wife and children came to the scene and started crying and shouting for their loved one to be strong and breathe. The wife cried, ‘Husband, don’t leave me!‘. The scene was both sad and touching. I couldn’t help but shed tears and performed CPR harder,” he explained.
Would the man have survived if better medical assistance had been provided sooner?
The ambulance soon arrived, and the paramedics took over the responsibility of performing CPR on the man. They lifted him into the ambulance and rushed him off to a hospital. Sadly, Uncle Kentang later received news that the man had died.
He couldn’t help but question all that was done to save the man before the ambulance arrived, and shared his suggestions.
This image is for illustration purposes only.
“If correct and high-quality CPR could have been performed immediately, could his life have been saved? Why did no one know how to use the AED? Why were there so many onlookers but no one helped with CPR?”
“Why was there no AED in the badminton court? Why were other players still able to play as if nothing had happened? As if they didn’t care?”
“My suggestion is that all sports venues must be equipped with AEDs. High-quality CPR and the use of AEDs must be taught to all Malaysians. All badminton players must know how to perform high-quality CPR and operate AEDs properly. I am very sad, maybe a life could have been saved, maybe not. But, at least if CPR and AED were performed immediately and correctly, he might have had a chance,” he said.
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