THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the timely intervention of a nurse, a young man’s life could be saved. Nurse Liji M Alex performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in a moving bus, which went a long way in saving the life of 28-year-old Rajeev. It happened well past 8pm on Wednesday, as 31-year-old Liji was travelling back home at Vadakkevila in Kollam after her six-hour shift at Holy Cross Hospital, Kottiyam. She had boarded a Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam fast passenger bus.
As the bus was reaching Parakkulam, Liji saw the conductor frantically asking the passengers if anyone had water with them, but none had. Someone had fallen ill, the conductor said. By the time Liji, who was sitting in the front seat, reached the man’ seat, he had collapsed. Liji immediately checked his pulse rate and realised the pulse had stopped. Losing no time, she along with other passengers laid Rajeev down on the bus floor and Liji started giving him CPR.
“The person had undergone a cardiac arrest. The only thing left to do was giving CPR and directing the bus to the nearest hospital,” said Liji. She continued giving CPR until the bus reached the nearest hospital and as the patient was being moved to the trolley at the hospital. “Later, he was intubated by the hospital staff and the pulse came back,” she recalled.
“I was there and I just did what I was supposed to do. We perform CPR in the hospital but doing it outside the hospital has never occurred in my career. It was one of the moments when I felt really proud of my profession,” said Liji. She feels that CPR is a life skill and more people should be trained in it. “It can save a person’s life in an emergency situation like this,” said Liji who has been serving as a nurse in the hospital for the past 12 years. “The person was young. I am happy that I could help him. He has a long life ahead of him,” she said.