‘I owe the boys my life’
Back-from-the-dead man to meet his teen saviours soon
GEORGE TOWN: A man who was clinically dead for 12 minutes will soon meet his heroes – five teenage boys.
Long Soo Keat will meet them when more than 1,000 people gather to learn the skills that the boys used to save him – cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) – and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED).
“I can’t wait to meet the boys. I haven’t even spoken to them. I owe them my life,” said the 49-year-old real estate agent.
On Sept 1, Long had a sudden cardiac arrest during a football match with his fellow Chung Ling High School alumni at the school field.
The five boys – St John Ambulance Malaysia (SJAM) L/Cpl Gabriel Soon Chai Long, 16, Pvt Liong Jun Yong, 16, 14-year-old cadets Ansley Tan Zhong, S. Shaman and Tang Yi Ze – were on duty and used CPR and the school’s AED to get Long’s heart to beat again after 12 minutes.
Long was warded for nearly two weeks and discharged only last Friday.
SJAM state staff officer Dr Lawrence Tan explained that Long’s sudden cardiac arrest was not the same as a heart attack.
“A heart attack is when blood supply to your heart is blocked. Many have heart attacks and survive.
“Sudden cardiac arrest is a malfunction in your heart and it stops beating. You lose consciousness without warning and the survival rate in Malaysia from that hovers at only 1%,” he said.
Long will meet his rescuers on Oct 9 at the MASS CPR-AED 2018 in Pesta Site, Sungai Nibong, which will see over 1,000 people learning the skill.
Penang Heart Safe Programme chairman Datuk Dr Luah Lean Wah said although most of the participants are policemen, firemen, servicemen and personnel from the Malaysian Civil Defence, there are still slots available for the public.
“If you know CPR, you can save someone from sudden cardiac arrest because there are 40 public AEDs you can use,” she said.
The state’s public AEDs, made by Zoll Medical Corporation (ZOLL), gives real-time feedback with voice commands to tell rescuers what to do.
State Health Committee chairman Dr Afif Bahardin confirmed that Long’s rescue was the first time a public AED was used to save a life here.
“Each AED costs more than RM8,000. ZOLL, the state and other donors invested over RM320,000 on the 40 AEDs.
“To be able to save just this one life makes it worth it for all of us,” Dr Afif said.
Initiated in 2015, ZOLL first donated five AEDs to Penang and today, the state government and other organisations have installed 40 public AEDs in schools, parks, business and government premises.
Their locations are shown on the SJAM HeartSafe Penang’s Facebook page.
Those who wish to join MASS CPR- AED 2018 can email masscprpenang@gmail.com.