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It was 5:53pm on a Sunday evening,
My team and I were casually chatting back in the base, Marina Bay Fire Station, while I plan what to do post-shift in 2 hours time. Never will I have expected to do CPR on a 7 year old boy soon after.
*Station alarm rang*
"Station one seven, Alpha one seven one, Case of drowning."
I grab the call sheet from the control centre, hop into the ambulance, and respond back to the dispatcher. As I read further into the call sheet, it says "Boy, 7, drowning in Resort World Sentosa...CPR commenced by lifeguard."
Boy? Drowning? Sentosa? No way...
I have never even attended a cardiac arrest case before. Worse still ...drowning, and a kid?!
Marina Bay Fire Station where I was dispatched from
roselow Tape is used to determine drug dosage for pediatric
LSU is a suction tool to remove water or particles from the airway
Okay, lets start thinking.
Here's how my brain was digesting the information:
Boy —> Paediatric —> Paediatric protocol and dosage —> Use Broselow Tape to determine
Drowning —> Water in the lungs —> Additional equipment needed —> Laerdal Suction Unit (LSU)
Cardiac Arrest —> Always refer to ABC —> Airway, Breathing, and Circulation + Adrenaline drug
As we arrived , the scene begins to uncover. I saw the kid, not even big enough to cover the blanket he was on, lying motionlessly while his chess is being compressed. One of the lifeguards hands over the case to us, and one crucial information I remember vividly was "..no shock was advised." My hear sank. If he was down from the period we got dispatched to the time we arrived, and no shock was advised, which is approximately 15 minutes. The chances of survival is incredibly low.
No time for pity, let's get to work.
I was in charge to prepare normal saline and adrenaline. I have prepared normal saline for IV countless of times, this should be fast and easy....
Resort World Sentosa Pool, where we resuscitate the boy
Just as I passed the Normal Saline to my senior paramedic, Kenneth, who was injecting IV, an elderly at the pool side appears to be stumbling and about to faint. Turns out, she was the boy's grandmother. "Nicky, go assists the grandmother!" As I rushed to catch her from falling. I tried to calm her down, and ask one of the lifeguard to take care of her.
Adrenaline drug
Next is the tricky part, I have to prepare the adrenaline.
As I break the cap, I have to try insert a needle into a tiny hole to extract the drug.
It sounds easy, but not when you have a trembling hand.
My hand was trembling uncontrollably, "clank clank clank" as the needle trembles on the glass.
Accidentally piercing my fingers will not be funny in this situation. In fact I will have to change the needle altogether, and face public's scrutiny who is judging my every move from every angle.
I tried standing up, to get a better position, and finally got the needle got in.
Now, I have to determine the dosage for the boy. I took out the Broselow tape that I prepared earlier and lay it across the boy.
It reads, 2.7ml of Adrenaline, and so we inject that exact amount.
Measuring using Broselow Tape
Actual photo of the scene taken by hotel residents from above
Time to load and go!
Prepared the stretcher, load the boy, and off we go.
I was handling the stretcher from the front, navigating my way back to the ambulance.
As we make our way to Singapore General Hospital, I was constantly pumping the boy's chest as whisper "One, and two and three...", Kenneth on the other hand, was operating the LSU to suck the water out as he exclaimed, "Come on boy, you can do it!"
The boy is not looking great, his face has been discolored, body turning cold.
Finally we arrived in SGH.
A group of nurses and doctors are on standby, notified of the incoming case.
As we swiftly transport the boy to the hospital boy and pushed into resuscitation room.
Now the boy is in the hands of the doctors.
I took a sign of relief, and still trying to comprehend what just happened.
My mind start blaming everything I can think of:
Why is there no one taking care of the boy?
Why didn't the lifeguard spot that?
If I were to prepare the adrenaline faster, maybe the boy can be...
Then Kenneth, who just spoke to the grandmother, walk across towards me and told me what he just heard. Apparently, this was meant to be a birthday celebration. It was the grandmother's birthday... and the parents weren't there, because they are working
I can't believe what I just heard.
This was meant to be a happy occasion, that turns to a nightmare.
How will the parents even react? I mean, not only they lose their son, but how are they going to blame the grandmother, their own parents, for this incident. Can they blame their own parents for this? How will the family dynamics be like?
I can't imagine...
2 hours later, we got the news that the boy was pronounced dead.
They say life is fragile
They say life is fragile
I have always known it is, but I have never fully understood the profound meaning of that phrase, until that day.
No one would have predicted an accident like this.
No one would have thought they will lose a child that day.
No one would have thought their lives will be completely shook.
Yet, everyday, such accidents occur around the world, by random.
And here we are, living day by day, not knowing when it might potentially happen to us, not knowing how precious it is to be alive.
Of course, we shouldn't live life in fear of such accidents, but maybe, as awkward as it might be, we need a constant reminder...
To remind us how great it is to be alive, to appreciate the present moment.
That these things that we now worry, taking away our focus from the present....
are nothing.
Nicky Sujadi was a paramedic at Singapore Civil Defense Force for 2 years as part of his National Service in Singapore
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