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A secondary school PE teacher saved the life of a student when the latter suffered a cardiac arrest during a soccer practice on Wednesday (November 8) morning. The 17-year-old Form 5 student, who has had a heart problem for years and relies on a pacemaker inside his chest to keep his heartbeat steady, suddenly collapsed during a soccer practice. The PE teacher immediately ran to him and found he had no pulse and was not breathing. Fortunately the teacher had learned cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before and, thanks to his quick decision and first-aid skill, the boy's life was saved. His condition further improved later that day in hospital.
The lucky student, identified only by his last name Lee, is enrolled at St. Marco's Secondary School in Shau Kei Wan, Island East. He is currently attending the school's college preparation class (for college entrance exams next summer).
The associate dean of the school told reporters after the incident that the management had learned about Lee's heart condition and the pacemaker reality only last semester. However, his doctor had concluded that he was fit enough to attend PE classes as long as he stayed away from strenuous activities. And his parents as well as Lee himself agreed with the doctor.
When the morning PE class began at 10AM on Wednesday, Lee was assigned the less physically-demanding position of goalie because of his heart condition. Sometime during the 35-minute soccer practice, another student found him lying on the ground in front of the goal mouth and immediately brought it to the teacher's attention. The latter rushed over to see what was wrong and found him unconscious, with no pulse or breathing.
At this life-or-death moment, the PE teacher decided to apply what he had learned in first-aid training years ago and started giving Lee cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Lee's heartbeat miraculously came back and was breathing again, though barely detectable. ■春生 資深翻譯員
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