The fall between the supermarket and 2 minutes of life and death
At about 7 pm on February 25, the man suddenly collapsed on the floor, convulsed, and turned purple. The crowd around was panicked, before they could regain their composure, Ms. Pham Thi Thuy Ha - a nurse at the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital - who was nearby immediately rushed over.
Without hesitation, she quickly checked the victim's condition, determined to have stopped breathing, stopped circulating, and performed chest compressions on the spot. In a crowded supermarket, she knelt down on the cold brick floor, performed each decisive heart compression, and shouted for more support and called for emergency services.
After about 2 minutes of continuous cardiac tamponade, a miracle happened: The patient's pulse returned, the cyanotic condition improved, and consciousness gradually recovered. The victim was then urgently transferred to Bach Mai Hospital for continued monitoring and treatment.
Forget your own pain
Few people know that Ms. Ha herself is being treated for osteoarthritis - a disease that causes persistent pain in the back and spine. Meanwhile, emergency cardiac tamponade requires strong, steady and continuous force, consuming a lot of physical energy. In that critical moment, she did not allow herself to stop.
Sharing after the incident, nurse Pham Thi Thuy Ha said that the accident happened outside of working hours. Taking advantage of waiting for her child to get out of school, she stopped by the supermarket to buy some items to prepare dinner. When she witnessed the man collapsing, she almost did not have time to think.
That's a professional reflex. If you don't do it right away, that person may not have a chance," she said.
Throughout the emergency process, she did not introduce herself to anyone. She only focused on each compression of the heart, each breath of the patient. Only when the ambulance left did everyone know that she was a nurse at the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital.
The incident happened right before Vietnamese Doctors' Day 27. 2. No flowers to congratulate, no stage to honor, but the image of a nurse kneeling down in a crowded supermarket, forgetting her own pain, putting aside personal matters to save people has moved many people.
In the midst of a hurried life, that silent action is a clear proof of the sense of responsibility and medical ethics of a doctor.
Sometimes, the nobility of the medical profession lies not in the words of honor, but in the moment of willingness to commit, to fight for the lives of patients – whether it is during a shift at the hospital or in the crowded everyday life.
