Two doctors who saved a fellow runner while competing in the Kaohsiung Fubon Marathon on Sunday have been praised by the city’s mayor for their professional response.
About 28km into the 42km race, a runner in his 40s collapsed due to what was later diagnosed as cardiac arrest. Cardiologist Chen Ching-yu (陳璟毓) and anesthesiologist Chuang Wen-ming (莊文銘), who were also competing in the marathon, rushed to his aid.
Chuang wrote on Facebook that he reached the man first and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) after checking the man’s neck and feeling no pulse.
Photo courtesy of Kaohsiung Sports Development Bureau
Soon afterward, Chen and the marathon’s medical team arrived on the scene, joining efforts to revive the runner, Chuang said, adding that the man regained consciousness after an automated external defibrillator (AED) was used, Chuang wrote.
“I told [the man] that he had almost died, and he couldn’t believe it,” Chuang wrote.
Chuang yesterday said he had only done what any medical professional would have done in that situation.
However, he said he hoped the incident had highlighted the importance of people learning basic life support techniques, such as how to recognize a cardiac arrest, administer CPR and use an AED.
With that knowledge, “anyone can end up being a lifesaver,” he said.
Separately, Chen wrote on facebook that when he saw another doctor attending to a collapsed man, he stopped to see if he could help.
After waiting a few minutes for an AED to arrive, he gave the man a single shock with the device and revived him, Chen said.
He said he waited for an ambulance and then continued the race.
Although he finished well behind his goal of three hours and 30 minutes, he did not mind, given the circumstances, Chen said.
“Records can be broken any time, but if a person does not receive immediate help when their life is in danger, they do not get a second chance,” he said.
On Sunday night, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) thanked the two doctors for their “coolheaded and professional” response to the emergency, which saved the man’s life.
The marathon was staffed by 130 medical personnel, some of whom arrived within the vital two-minute window of someone going into cardiac arrest, during which time CPR can still be successful, he said.
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